


Serena's Sister

by AllisonIlluminated



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Multi, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, SatoSere, amourshipping, ashxserena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllisonIlluminated/pseuds/AllisonIlluminated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting transported into the Pokemon world, Erin finds herself surrounded by the characters of her favorite Anime. The catch? Once she starts travelling with them, the course of the Pokemon world will change forever. Contains eventual Amourshipping.</p><p>Originally posted on Fanfiction.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to Archives Of Our Own! This story is originally posted on fanfiction.net, but a friend recommended this site to me, so I'm going to start posting here too. 
> 
> I swear that this gets better, but not until after the eighth chapter battle. I probably will go back and rewrite it someday. Bear with me.

 

**< Vainville Town>**

Erin woke up. The world was spinning around her, and she sat up too suddenly. Where am I? The last thing that she could remember is being in math class. They were learning about… something. She could barely remember.

 _I must have fainted_ , Erin decided. As soon as she came to that conclusion, however, she realized that she was in a bed. It felt nothing like her bed at home, though. It was luxurious, velvet and plush. Something isn't right here.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open into the face of a small red bird.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Erin screamed at the top of her lungs. She sat up straight. _Something is seriously wrong right now_ , she though wildly. She looked around, seeing pink walls and hanging, until she came face to face with her. Her jaw dropped.

Erin had always considered herself something of a Pokemon connoisseur. She and her friend Asha had devoured the anime. So, she was beyond astounded to find her self face to face with her favorite character; Serena.

“What the hell?” she shouted. Serena just sat there, staring at her, shocked.

“Who on Earth are you? And why did you have to wake me up?” she shouted. She can't possibly be sitting there, Erin decided, it just isn't possible.

“My name is Erin,” she said. “How did I get here?”

“I could ask you the same! Why are you in my room, at my house? Mom!”

She stood up, and Erin realized something. She was in the Pokemon world! She didn't know how, but she was sitting there, talking to her favorite character in her favorite show. How crazy is this?

A yell comes from downstairs. “Serena? Erin? Is everything OK up there?” It was Grace, Serena's mom. And she knew Erin's name. “I'm coming up.” She walked up the stairs and entered the room. The two girls started shouting at the same time.

“Why is there another girl in my room? And do you always have send Fletchling to wake me up?”

“How do you know my name?”

“What in the name of Arceus are you two talking about? You're sisters! You too are crazy this morning.” Grace turned around and went back down the stairs, and Serena and Erin just sat there, staring at each other in confusion and shock.

* * *

 

**< Later>**

 

They ate breakfast in silence. Erin stared into her buttered toast, and her mind ran with confusion. Grace was chatting along, with her Fletchling on her arm, but Serena was silent as well. She had just stopped paying attention when Grace spoke to them. “Now, I think that it's high time that you two go outside and practice on Rhyhorn.”  
Serena started whining. “Mom, do I have to?”

“Yes, now how many times do I have to tell you.”

They stood up and headed outside, Erin in confusion, and Serena fuming. Once they reached the backyard, Serena stopped and called out to a rocky gray Pokemon. “Hi Rhyhorn!” She kept dragging her and they ducked behind a bush. It wasn't until they got back there that Erin got a good look at her for the first time. She had long, honey hair, falling in bunches around her head. She had a murderous look on her face, too, but Erin didn't notice that until she slammed her into the ground. She cried out as her face scratched against the ground.

“Who are you, and why does mom keep calling you my sister?” She was mad, madder than Erin had ever seen her on the show.  
  
“I have no idea. One minute I was in math class, and the next minute I'm in a bed across the room from you,” she said, completely truthfully.

“What? That makes no sense.”

“I know!”

“Well, you aren't my sister.”

“I know that!” Erin yelled. Suddenly, the impossibility of our situation dawned on her. “Hey, if you really are Serena, can you show me your Pokemon?”

Serena stared at her, truly confused now. “Of course I'm Serena, and I don't have any Pokemon.”

Then it dawned on Erin. The X and Y anime was positively her favorite, but the episodes she liked best were always the ones with Serena in it. She makes her appearance in the very first episode. She gets woken up by her mom's Fletchling, and then is sent out to ride her Rhyhorn. A series of events exactly like this one.

_I am inside of the anime._

“Serena,” Erin said slowly. “We need to go inside and watch the news. Now.” _She thinks I am bonkers_. “Look, I can explain all of this, but you just have to trust me on this one.” she lead her back inside.

Grace took one look at her and cried, “Oh, Erin, look at your face.” She took a wet washcloth and dabbed it over the scratches that Serena gave Erin when she shoved her. “Rhyhorn must have really thrown you.” Erin looked over at Serena pouting. _I don't remember her being this immature, she thought to herself. I guess I must not remember a lot of things about the show._  
Erin's thoughts were silenced as the news came on.

“And now breaking news from Lumiose City! A Garchomp seems to have climbed up the Prism tower, and a trainer has followed him up. He removed an implement that seems to have been hurting Garchomp when his Pikachu fell of the tower. This heroic trainer actually jumped off after him, caught him, and was swept away by a mysterious Pokemon! We come to him now for his comments.”

Erin tuned out of the program, and instead watched Serena's reaction. It was like a light had turned on in her eyes.

She's going to go and meet Ash. They're going to travel together. And I'm going to be there right along side them.

Serena turned to her mom, all thoughts of the day washed away. She took a deep sigh and squared her shoulders. “Mom,” she said, “I'm going out.”

Grace looked at her. “To where?”

“I'm going to go and get my first Pokemon, in Lumiose City.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? So I can really go?” Serena's eyes filled up.

“Yes, but you have to bring Erin.”

“What?” Serena looked over at Erin and glared. She shrugged.

Serena looked like she was gearing up for a fight, but Erin interjected. “That's okay, I'll be fine going with Serena.” Serena shot her daggers, but was silent, seeing that she was getting what she wanted.

* * *

 

**< Later>**

Erin sat downstairs while Serena went back up and changed into her traveling clothes. She noticed a small yellow bag sitting on the table. She stifled a gasp. It was her purse!

_How weird is this? I get somehow transported here, and my purse comes along for the ride._

She grabbed it and she looked inside. It had her journal, along with some of her school stuff. She tossed her textbooks to the side. She wouldn't need it now, she figured. Eagerly, she grasped at a clasp holding shut the pocket that held her two most valuable possessions in her purse; her iPhone and her Pokemon Go bracelet.

Erin pulled the iPhone out first. As she grasped it, it changed, merging into a shiny Poketch. “Awesome,” she murmured as she strapped it to her wrist.

Next she grabbed the bracelet. As she touched it, it changed into a ball, red on one half and white on the other. Erin gasped. Does it have a Pokemon inside?

She stood up, clutching the pokeball in one hand. “Pokemon, I choose you!” She threw it, and it hit the floor and bounced open, revealing… nothing.

“Aww,” she whined. “It's just an empty pokeball.” She put it back in the bag and exited the house to wait for Serena.

Serena came bouncing out of the house a minute later. “Bye mom!”

Grace called after her. “Make sure to practice your Rhyhorn racing!”

“I won't!” Serena started running down the path, and Erin jogged after her to keep up.

* * *

 

**< Route One>**

“Look,” Erin said once they were out of the view of the house. “I know we got of on the wrong foot, but can we at least try to be civil to one another?”

“OK, I guess. I just don't understand.” She shook her head.

“Well, then let me formally introduce myself. My name is Erin, and I have no idea what is happening.” She cracked a wide grin.

“Well, my name is Serena, and I feel the same way.”

The two girls stared at each other, and started to giggle, before falling to the ground in a fit of laughter.

“Well, it is nice to meet you,” Erin said. She stuck out her hand, and Serena took it. “I look forwards to traveling with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	2. Getting Started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: Erin woke up to find that she was in the Pokemon world, in the house of Serena, her favorite character. Serena's mother, Grace, claimed that Erin was her daughter as well as Serena. After a brief confrontation with Serena, the two girls have decided to travel to Lumiose City to get Serena's first Pokemon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to post these first thirteen chapters already on fanfiction.net at the same time, so I'll spread them out as much as my patience allows me.
> 
> Note on fanfiction.net: Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my first chapter! I really appreciate it! To those who might be wondering after this chapter, I'm going to stay pretty close to what happened in the anime until after Ash's third gym battle, at which point the story will start to divulge a bit. I hope you like it! (Note: I still don't own Pokemon)

**< Route One>**

“So,” Erin asked, “How are we getting to Lumiose City?”

Serena turned and looked at her. “There's a bus in Aquacorde Town. We can take that!”

The two of them walked down the beautiful scenic route one path. The air was bright and alive in the Kalos region, and Erin was in awe of all of the Pokemon around her. In the back of her mind, she still felt like she was in math class, taking 8th grade geometry. Boy, was she glad that she wasn't there right now.

She gasped as they passed a white and pink cow Pokemon. “OMIGOSH is that a legit Miltank? That's so cool!” She rushed over and started to pet it.

“Miltank Mil!”

Serena stopped and raised an eyebrow at her. “Where did you say you were from again? Before you ended up here?”

Erin gulped, then decided that it was easier to lie than to explain. “I'm from Kanto.”

Serena's eyes lit up. “Really? That's far away!”

Erin smiled, then realized something.

_I may never get back home._

Her smile turned into a frown. She turned away, effectively ending the conversation. Her hand went to her purse, and she began to grasp the pokeball that was in there. If she was stuck here, then she might as well put her time to good use. She had put far to many hours into Pokemon to let this opportunity slip by.

* * *

 

**< Aquacorde Town>**

Erin ran up to the bus stop just as one was pulling in. “Hey, wait for us!” she called.

The bus driver looked down at her and Serena. “No problem! Just hop on! We're on a direct route to Lumiose City!”

“That's great! Thank you very much,” Serena said. “Come on, let's go!”

The bus started to rev it's engines, then sped out of the station. Erin pressed her face to the window as the countryside sped by. _This is so amazing! It's hard to believe that it's really happening._

“Erin?”

“Huh?” She peeled her eyes away from the window and looked at Serena. “What is it?”

“Are you going to get a Pokemon too?” she asked, “When we get to Professor Sycamore's lab?”

Erin stopped and thought about it. “I guess I don't really know. I have no idea what I'm going to do.”

Serena sighed, staring past Erin out the window. “I'm going to get Fennekin, but… I don't know what I'll do after that.”

“Hey, I know!” Erin said excitedly.

“What?” Serena asked, looking at her.

“We could travel together! It'll be a lot of fun!” Erin hadn't realized it before, but now she totally wanted to travel with Serena.

“Sure!” Serena said happily. “I would be glad to have company. But… I have two conditions.”

“Um… okay. Shoot,” Erin nervously said.

“First… well, you see, there's this boy...” Serena mumbled, and a rosy red blush came to her cheeks.

 _She means Ash!_ Erin realized, grinning internally. “Of course.”

“Oh, well, cool!” She watched her give a sigh of relief. “Second, you have to tell me how you really got here sometime.”

“Sure.” Erin promised to herself that she would tell Serena everything… someday.

“Okay, then it's a deal!”

The two of them shook on it, when all of a sudden, the bus shook.

“Salamance, use Hyper Beam!”

The back of the bus exploded as a purple beam of light shot into it. It stopped in its tracks. The front door swung open, and Serena and Erin spilled out of the bus in a mad rush. The two of them made a made dash for the woods as a giant gray dragon swooped down from overhead. Serena ducked as the tailwind from its massive wings swept by, but Erin stood strong against the onslaught.

“Go!” the bus driver yelled, “I can deal with this! Go Aggron!” A huge metal Pokemon appeared and gave a wild roar.

“Serena, run!” Erin cried as route four erupted into the heat of battle. Beams of light were shooting in every direction

“I'm running!”

They dashed off into the woods in the direction of Lumiose city. While it seemed like they had gotten away easily, they were completely unaware of the hidden danger that they had just faced.

* * *

 

**< Somewhere in the Forest>**

“Serena?”

“What?”

“I think that we're lost,” Erin said, sighing. They had been walking around for what seemed like hours.

Serena sighed, visibly drooping. “Aww, I'll never get my first Pokemon now...” She looked over at Erin, then noticed a red corner sticking out from under her sleeve. “Wait, is that a Poketch?”

“Yeah, it is,” Erin said, embarrassed. “I had totally forgotten that I had it. I found it in my purse, which was on your table.”

“Well, we can just use it, silly! It has a built-in GPS! I wanted one for Pokeday, but mom gave me some ugly hat instead.” Serena started to pout, and Erin sighed. “Well, let's see if it works!”

Erin switched it on, and a metallic voice came to life. WELCOME. I AM DEXTER, AND I AM THE VERY NEWEST IN POKETCH TECHNOLOGY. I CONTAIN A FULL POKEDEX, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS OF YOUR AVERAGE POKETCH. WHAT MAY I DO FOR YOU?

“Whoa, it's a Pokedex also?” Erin gasped. “Uh, can you show us how to get to Lumiose City from here?”

 

YES, Dexter said, IF YOU TRAVEL TO THE NORTHEAST FROM THIS EXACT POINT, YOU WILL REACH LUMIOSE CITY IN EXACTLY 30 MINUTES.

“Okay, thanks Dexter,” Erin said, pulling her sleeve back over the watch.

“That's so cool!” Serena yelled. “I wish that I had one.” She turned and started walking. “So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!”

She started to run, and Erin called “Hey, wait up!” and chased after her. All of a sudden, her foot caught on a root on the forest floor. She screamed as she fell and hit the ground.

“Erin!” Serena called, “Are you okay?”

“Ow.” Erin whined. She started to get up, then noticed a round object, lodged deep underneath of a nearby log. “Wait a second. I think I see something.” She crawled over to the log and pulled out the object from underneath it, then gasped at what she saw. “Is that… a Pokemon egg? Yes, it is!”

The egg was quite large, with red, blue, and beige stripes. Erin had to use to arms to support it as she slipped it into her backpack.

“Wow!” Serena said. “I've never seen a Pokemon egg before.”

“I wonder why it was here,” Erin said thoughtfully. “I bet that professor Sycamore will know when we get to his lab.”

“Yeah, we should get going. Just make sure not to trip again, okay?”

The two girls walked off towards Lumiose City. They passed through clearings and trees until they finally came across a rise looking down on Lumiose City. Prism Tower sparkled in the midday sun, shining down over the huge city. Streets broke off away from it in all directions, and the city was bustling with life. Serena pointed at a large building with an attached greenhouse close by. “That's the professor's lab, right over there! Let's go!”

 

**< Professor Sycamore's Lab>**

 

Erin watched as Serena tentatively pushed the door open. “Hello,” she called, “Is professor Sycamore around?”

Erin stepped in behind her as a young man with tousled hair in a lab coat came up to them from a flight of stairs. “That's me. I'm up here!” he called.

“Huh?” Serena turned around. “Hello there! I'm Serena.”

“And I'm Erin.”

“Well,” professor Sycamore said, “I'll bet you two are here to become Pokemon trainers.”

“Yeah,” Serena said. “Also, professor, I saw this trainer on the news. The report was all about how he had saved a Garchomp.”

“Oh, you're talking about Ash.” Serena's eyes lit up, and Erin smiled. “I'm afraid that he already left, and he said that he was going to challenge the Santalune gym.

“Okay,” Serena said with a grin. “Professor, may I choose a Pokemon?”

“Of course!” professor Sycamore said. “Do you have any idea which Pokemon you'd like? Alright, everybody out!”

Three Pokemon spilled out of a nearby alcove. One had a bunch of green spikes on its head, one looked like a frog, and the last one like a fox. Erin gasped. _It's all of the Kalos starter Pokemon!_

“These are the three Pokemon new trainers in Kalos may choose as a starter,” Sycamore said gesturing over each one. “They are Chespin, Froaky, and Fennekin. Which one will you choose as your starter? Before you make your decision, this is your Pokedex.” The professor handed a red square to Serena, but Erin had withdrawn to a position behind the staircase. All of a sudden, she was afraid that if she interfered in any way, she might change Serena's decision. However, the lure of the starter Pokemon drew her forewards.

“Thank you very much, professor,” Serena said. The Pokedex blinked once, the turned on. “Ah, it's on!”

“You can use that to scan the Pokemon. Erin, I suppose that you'll be needing to get a Pokedex as well. I normally would have had two, but your visit was registered under Grace, so I forgot I would be seeing sisters.”

Serena stepped forewards to try to say something, but Erin cut her off. “Professor, it's fine. I already have this.” She held out her Poketch, which beeped on.

HELLO. MY NAME IS DEXTER. I AM A CUSTOM POKEDEX PRODUCED FOR ERIN BY <STATIC>. ERIN CURRENTLY HAS ONE POKEMON IN HER PARTY. MY SCANNERS WERE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY IT IN ITS CURRENT STATE, HOWEVER.

She stared at her watch, surprised, as a million questions spiraled through her head. _Does it mean the egg? Why on earth would it have static-ed out the creator's name on this watch? Who created it, anyways?_

“Well, then. I supposed you don't need a starter today. I will take a look at that mysterious Pokemon that it mentioned, though.” He turned to Serena. “Now, it's time for you to pick your starter. Have you decided which one you want?”

Serena looked at each one of the Pokemon in turn. “They're all so cute, but I already decided which one I wanted before I left the house.” She knelt down in front of the fox Pokemon. “Fennekin, I pick you! I'm Serena!”Erin watched as she smiled at the Pokemon.

Fennekin looked up at her, then said “Fenne!” in agreement.

“Wonderful!” professor Sycamore said. “Now let's take a look at that mysterious Pokemon of yours over some tea, now shall we?”

* * *

 

**< The Professor's Lounge>**

“Okay,” said Sycamore, “So let me get this straight. A Salamance attacked your bus, so you two ran off into the woods, when Erin found this egg.”

“Yeah!” Erin said. “It was really weird, it just attacked. We don't know why. Professor, do you know anything about this?”

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“Can you at least give me some advice with this egg, though?” Erin looked at him expectantly.

“Let me see...” The professor rummaged through a box of stuff and pulled out a round container. “Aha! I knew I still had it in here somewhere. This is a portable incubator! You can put the egg in here.”

Erin took the incubator from the professor. “Thank you very much!” she said. She carefully lifted the egg out of her backpack, placed it into the incubator, and zipped it back in.

“Well,” Serena jumped in, “We're off to Santalune city now! Bye Professor!”

"Come back some time, both of you!”

“We will!”

With that, our two heroes set off for Santalune city, with an egg and Fennekin in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	3. A New Friendship is Hatched!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time: After their bus to Lumiose City was attacked, Erin and Serena found themselves traveling through the woods. While doing so, Erin stumbled upon a large Pokemon egg. They find Professor Sycamore's lab, and Serena received her starter Pokemon. Now, we find our heroes traveling back towards Santalune City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one! I plan on not leaving the front page until I run out of currently published chapters.
> 
> Note on Fanfiction.com: Here we go! I honestly didn't expect to get this many chapters out so fast. I probably won't publish as often after this one, but you never really know. Also, a big shout-out to Fenrir's Phantom for reviewing! So, without further ado, her we go! (Note: I don't own Pokemon, so stop asking)

* * *

 

**< Route Four>**

Route four was a wreck. The road was scarred, pitted with deep gashes and rubble. The wreckage of the bus had been knocked over on it's side, and it looked like a bomb had hit it. The scene was surrounded by the police and ambulances. Erin gritted her teeth at the scene. _This is so awful._

“Did just two Pokemon really do all of this?” Serena whispered. “I had no idea. We were lucky to get away so fast.”

“Yeah,” Erin murmured. She noticed a man sobbing off to the side, surrounded by policemen. “Hey, is that the bus driver?”

“Yeah, it is! I wonder what's wrong.” Serena dashed over to the man's side, and Erin hurriedly followed.

The man was laying on the ground. His face was covered in dirt and bruises. “My-My Aggron! She took it!” he sobbed.

“Sir, you need to calm down.” Serena and Erin looked up. It was officer Jenny! “Now, can you tell us anything about this woman. What did she look like? How did she take your Pokemon?”

“I-I don't know,” the man cried. “She had some sort of device, and it turned my Aggron into stone.”

Erin decided to jump in. “Officer Jenny, this woman had a Salamance, and it used Hyper Beam on the bus.” She shied back nervously as Jenny turned to them.

“Who are you, and what do you know about this? How do I know you aren't in league with her? So, what do you know?” At this point, she was up and in their faces.

Erin sweatdropped. “No, no, nothing like that! We were on the bus when it attacked, on our way to get Serena's starter Pokemon. We ran off into the woods.”

“Oh yeah? Well, who's Serena?”

Serena had been nervously listening to the whole conversation when she jumped in. “Um, officer, that's me. Look, Erin is telling the truth! See, I got a Fennekin yesterday.” She reached for the pokeball on her belt. “Come on out, Fennekin!”

The red fox Pokemon came out and jumped into Serena's arms. “Kin!” it said happily.

Officer Jenny smiled. “Oh, okay. I guess I judged you too soon,” she said, embarrassed. She drooped, sighing. “I guess the Pokemon thief is really gone, then.”

“We'll let you know if we see anything!” Erin called. She and Serena started to walk away from the wreckage, scared of what they had just seen.

After the two of them had gotten a fair distance from the wreckage, Erin sighed. “I wonder who that Pokemon thief was. She's probably still out there! We have to be careful.”

“Yeah. What if she comes back and takes Fennekin!” Serena clenched her fists, and Erin watched her tense up.

Fennekin looked up at Serena. “Fenne fen kin!”

“Serena,” Erin called, “Fennekin's right. We can't worry about this now. Come on, there's a Pokemon Center up the road ahead. We can stay there tonight and go to Santalune city in the morning.”

“Okay,” Serena said, sighing.

* * *

**< Later, at the Pokemon Center>**

Erin stared out over the forested landscape. The star-swept sky lit the night with a soft aura, broken only by the yellow glow of the light of the street below. _This is incredible._ _I've never seen so many stars in one place._ She sighed, propping up her head with her arm. Her legs swung down off of the balcony.

“Erin?” She turned to see Serena, dressed in her nightclothes. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…” Erin turned back to the glow of the night sky as it lit up her eyes. “Back home… there were never this many stars.”

“Yeah, isn't it amazing?” Serena walked over and sat down next to her. Fennekin walked over and curled up into a ball on her lap. “My mom always used to say that each star had a different Pokemon in it. Sometimes, I just can't help but to wonder if that's true.”

Erin didn't respond, but the two girls sat there for a long time, staring of into the night sky.

* * *

**< Santalune City>**

“Alright, now Professor Sycamore said that Ash would be challenging the Santalune Gym, right?” Serena said.

“Yeah, so we should go there first,” Erin said. “Come on, it's this way!”

The two of them dashed off through the city streets. Eventually, they came across agiant greenhouse. Slowly, the two of them walked through a set of double doors and came across the battlefield. Erin gasped. _I've seen this before, in the anime!_

She looked over at Serena, who only had eyes for the young boy standing in front of them. He had a red cap and a blue jacket, and an injured Pikachu was laying beside him.

“Can I help you?” a voice came from Erin's right. She looked up to see a woman with a small yellow Pokemon on her shoulder, as well as a boy with glasses and a young girl with a ponytail. _Wow, it really is all of the characters from the anime. This is so cool!_

Serena answered her. “We were wondering if it would be okay if we watched them battle.”

“Yes, of course,” the woman said. “You can stand over here with us.”

“Thank you!” Erin said, still partially in awe. However, her attention was diverted as the action resumed on the battlefield below.

“Okay, use peck!” yelled Ash. The small bird hovering in front of him flew up, then dove at what looked like a pond skater. It dodged, then retaliated with an ice beam. The bird dodged that as well.

“Awesome!” Serena said.

“Go for it, Fletchling,” the young girl standing next to Serena yelled.

“Okay, now use sticky web, Surskit!” the gym leader yelled.

“Double team!”

Surskit shot of lots of little pink pellets just as Fletchling appear to duplicate, and they knocked the illusions out one at a time before crashing into the ceiling. It then shot a powerful wind gust down at Surskit. The battlefield blossomed with a massive explosion to reveal Surskit knocked out.

“All right!” everybody yelled.

“Surskit is unable to battle. Fletchling wins!”

“Wow!” Serena said to Erin, “Isn't he strong?”

All of a sudden, Erin felt very determined. _So this is what battling is really like! Once I get a Pokemon, I have to battle Ash!_ “Yeah,” she replied, somewhat distantly.

“Both sides have one Pokemon left,” the boy with glasses said. “Ash just might win this.”

“Let's do this!” the gym leader said. “Vivillon!” A beautiful butterfly with pink wings appeared.

“Dexter, what's that?” Erin asked, pointing her watch at the Pokemon. A hologram appeared above its surface with a picture of the Pokemon. VIVILLON, THE SCALE POKEMON. VIVILLON ARE SKILLFULLY ABLE TO FIND A SOURCE OF WATER. IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT YOU FIND A SPRING IF YOU FOLLOW A VIVILLON.

“Cool,” Serena murmured.

“Okay, Fletchling, use peck!” Ash yelled. The red bird dove at the Vivillon, but it was caught in a powerful psychic and was flung to the ground.

“Now, Vivillon, use Gust!” the gym leader cried. Fletchling was caught in a powerful wind and was thrown backwards into one of the sticky webs coating the wall. Erin gasped in horror, despite the fact that she already knew what was coming.

“Now, use Solar beam!” Vivillon launched a powerful beam of energy at Fletchling, and the small bird fell to the ground in defeat.

Ash stared at his Pokemon, then gathered it up and headed to the Pokemon center. He and his friends left in a hurry, leaving Erin and Serena standing on the deserted sidelines.

“Wow, that Ash is really something, isn't he,” Serena said.

“Yeah. You should go talk to him,” Erin said, winking. “After all, he did leave all of his stuff over there.” She pointed to a green backpack lying in the corner. “I'm sure that he'll want it back. I'm going to head back to the Pokemon center and take another look at the egg. You coming?”

“Uh, yeah, sure!” Serena said.

The two of them walked back to the Pokemon center and watched as the group with Ash walked around the back.

“Hey Serena?” Erin said. “You should go and talk to them. I-I want to take a private look at that egg, if you don't mind.”

“No problem!” Serena said. “Do whatever you need to.”

Erin loosened up, relieved. “Okay, thanks! See you tonight!” She turned around and headed into the forest, looking for somewhere to think

* * *

**< A Forest Clearing>**

The mossy rock was damp, covered with water after the dawn dew. Erin shifted uncomfortably as she drew the incubator out of her backpack. The egg shifted inside.

“I wonder if this egg is ever going to hatch,” she said with a sigh. She was surprised when her watch beeped on. “Wait a second. Dexter, do you know how close this egg is to hatching?”

YES, ERIN. THIS EGG IS IN THE FINAL STAGES OF ITS DEVELOPMENT. IT SHOULD HATCH IF YOU TAKE IT OUT AND PROVIDE IT WITH THE PROPER AMOUNT OF WARMTH.

“Um, okay.” She pressed the button to open the incubator, and it hissed as it opened up, allowing the egg inside to spill out onto her lap. She threw her arms over it and covered it with the light jacket that she was wearing. “Will this be enough?”

YES. NOW, CAREFULLY MAKE A SMALL CRACK ON THE TOP OF THE EGG.

Erin looked at the egg quizzically. _This better work._ She raised her fist, and gave a sharp rap to the top of the egg. It shook, then a tiny crack appeared on the top. “Okay, what now?”

WAIT.

The egg stood silent for a while, then all of a sudden it started to shake on it's own accord. A beautiful green glow lit up the forest, and it spread upwards on the egg until it reached the top. The egg glowed brighter and brighter until all of a sudden it stopped.

Erin had covered her face while the egg was hatching, but looked down now that it had stopped.

Sitting on her lap was a miniature dragon. It had a blue body and small wings, and well as a red head. Across its back were a series of small red spikes. Tiredly, it opened its eyes, and let out it's first sounds. “Druddigon?”

“Hi there,” Erin said, her breath taken away. “My name is Erin. Who are you?”

“Dru? Druddigon!” the tiny dragon yelped. It uncurled, then started nuzzling its head against Erin's stomach.

“Oh! Hi!” she squealed delightedly. “Dexter, what is it?” She pointed her watch at the newborn Pokemon.

DRUDDIGON, THE CAVE POKEMON. WITH THE SKIN ON ITS FACE HARDER THAN ROCK, DRUDDIGON WARMS ITS BODY BY EXPOSING ITS WINGS TO THE SUN. THIS DRUDDIGON CURRENTLY KNOWS THE MOVES BITE, SCRATCH, AND LEER. IT ALSO HAS THE EGG MOVE FIRE FANG, ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT LEARNED IT YET.

“Wow, amazing!” Erin yelled. She looked down to see Druddigon eying her Poketch hungrily, when its jaw started to glow and it bit down on her hand. She screamed on the top of her lungs, then pried Druddigon off of her arm.

“Hey! My arm is not for you to eat!” she scolded the Pokemon. It looked up at her completely innocently, and her heart softened. “Oh well, you are only just a baby.”

She rummaged through her bag until she came across a small spherical object. “Hey Druddigon. I want to become a Pokemon trainer and do awesome stuff! Do you think that you want to came along with me?”

Druddigon looked up at her and nodded. “Druddigon gon!”

“Alright then,” Erin said. She pressed the button on the pokeball that she was holding and it grew to full size. “Pokeball, go!” She gently pressed the button to Druddigon's head, and its body dissolved into red light, which was transported inside the ball. It shook once, then twice, then errupted into a shower of sparks.

Erin felt amazing. She had just gotten her first Pokemon, and it was a dragon type at that! She couldn't wait to tell Serena!

* * *

**< At the Pokemon Center>**

Erin walked into the crowded restaurant. _Now, where could they have gone?_ Her gaze drifted across the densely packed room until she found Serena. _There they are!_ She ran across the room and went up to their table.

“Serena!” she yelled. “You'll never guess what happened!”

Serena spun around on hearing Erin yell. “What? Oh, hi Erin. Come on, there's still some food left.”

Ash looked at Erin. “Serena, who's this?”

“This is my traveling companion, Erin. Erin, this is Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont.” Serena pointed to each one in turn.

Erin was gearing up to talk when Ash interrupted. “Hang on, wait a second. Aren't you two sisters or something? Yeah, I remember you two from summer camp now. There were always the twin sisters that hung around together.”

“What?” Serena exclaimed. “You must be wrong! She's not my sister, and she didn't go to summer camp with us.”

“Yeah, I just-” Erin began to say, before stopping herself. _We can't tell them about what happened, they'll never understand._ “I just arrived from Kanto! ( _Blatant lie.)_ I've never seen Serena before three days ago! ( _Another Lie._ )”

“Huh, well that's weird,” Ash said with his mouth filled with food. _“_ You look exactly the same.”

“We look what!” Erin yelled. “Ash Ketchum, why are you always so dense?”

“Hey,” Serena said. “I'm sure he didn't know. Give him a break.” Erin watched Serena center herself in between her and Ash.

Ash seemed alarmed by all of this. “Uh, thanks Serena. But, Erin, how do you know my last name?”

Erin's mind went blank. _Uh, I watched you on TV_ _for eight years? No, I can't say that… Oh, I know!_ “Uh, Serena told me about when you two went to camp.”

Serena looked at her like she was crazy, but Ash and the others just shrugged. “I guess that makes sense,” he said.

Serena shook of her confusion, and looked at Erin. “So, what did you want to show me?”

“Oh yeah! My egg hatched!” Erin dug around in her purse until she came up with the pokeball. “It's in here!”

“That's awesome!” Serena yelled.

“You had a Pokemon egg? That's so cool!” Ash craned his neck, trying to see over Serena.

“Ooh, Ooh, can I see it? Please?” Bonnie was looking at Erin expectantly, and Erin smiled.

“Yes,” Clemont said, “That would be fantastic!”

“Of course!” Erin said. She threw the pokeball into the air. “Come on out, Druddigon!”

A red flash appeared, and the young cave Pokemon appeared on the table. It opened its small wings “Druddigon!” Noticing Erin, its fangs started to glow and he chomped down on Erin's arm.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, and everyone else covered their ears. “Druddigon, how many times will I have to tell you? I am not food!” Everyone else laughed.

“Wow, that egg was a Druddigon egg!” Serena exclaimed.

“That's so cool!” Ash yelled.

“So cute!” Bonnie said. “Can I pet it?”

“Sure!”

Bonnie stroked the tiny dragon's head, and it cracked a toothy smile. “Gon!”

“If I remember correctly, Druddigon is a dragon type. Their eggs are supposed to be quite rare. How did you find one?” Clemont pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose so that the light reflected off of it.

“Well, you see, that's a long story.” Erin explained how they had been attacked and how she had found the egg. She was only interrupted by her new Pokemon.

“Druddigon drud!” it said, pointing at the food that was on the table.

“Oh, I'm sorry! Of course you're hungry. Does anyone have any Pokemon food?” Erin looked around the table, and Ash offered her some. “Here you go, Druddigon.”

“Why is it so small?” Bonnie asked. “I thought that Druddigon were supposed to be big.”

Erin looked down at Druddigon and sighed. The dragon had gone to sleep on top of the table. “Druddigon's only a couple hours old. Of course she's small.” Bonnie looked disappointed, but Erin smiled at her. “Don't worry, I'm sure that he'll grow.”

“Alright!” Ash exclaimed, “I'm done eating, so let's go train!”

“Okay, lets go!” Serena agreed with a slight blush on her face.

Erin watched Druddigon sleep, the pulled out it's pokeball. With a whoosh, it returned. She stood up and shouldered her stuff. “Guys, I'm going to turn in for the night. I can't wait for your rematch tomorrow, Ash.”

“Alright, goodnight,” Serena said, waving, before following after Ash.

Erin smiled and shook her head. _Serena has such a crush on him. She'll tell him one of these days._ She turned and headed upstairs to go to sleep.

With that, Erin and her new friend Druddigon turned in after a long day. With Ash's rematch coming up the next day, she felt more certain than before of what she wanted to do.

_I'm going to challenge the Kalos gyms as well, me and Druddigon together. And someday, we're going to be better than Ash Ketchum. I just know it!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	4. En Route to Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter: Serena and Erin met up with Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont, only to watch as Ash looses to Viola. While Serena talks to Ash, Erin watches as her egg hatches into a baby Druddigon. Erin decides to take on the gym challenge herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on Fanfiction.net: Here we are with another chapter! I hadn't originally planned to, but I ended up writing in a major plot twist into this chapter. Also, next chapter, I plan to bring back a character from earlier in the anime. So, with that said and done, here's chapter four! Please R&R, and I hope you enjoy it. (Note: Do I own Pokemon? Nope.)

**< Santalune City Gym>**

 

"Go Ash!"

The sidelines of the battlefield at the Santalune gym had started to seem very crowded. Erin, Druddigon, Serena, Fennekin, Bonnie, Clemont, and Alexa had all crammed into a row at the barrier to watch Ash take on Viola again. The air in the room was tense in anticipation for the battle.

Erin looked down at Druddigon. "Now, you be good, or else you're going back in the pokeball, okay?"

The dragon yawned sleepily, then looked up at her and nodded. "Drud druddigon," it replied in agreement.

"Alright! Go Ash!" yelled Bonnie.

"I know you can do it!" Serena yelled. "Right, Fennekin?"

"Kin!"

"Alright," the announcer started, "Each trainer will have the use of two Pokemon, and the battle will be over when one trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue. Only the challenger will be able to substitute Pokemon."

"So Ash," Viola said, narrowing her eyes at him. "My sister tells me that you were out training hard yesterday. I'm looking forwards to this." She thrust her pokeball forwards.

"Yeah," Ash replied, "Me too! Because this time, I'm going to win a badge!" Pikachu at his side mimicked his movements as he pumped his fist.

"My lens is still focused on victory, and nothing can ruin this shot! Go, Surskit!" Viola threw her pokeball, which opened in a flash of red light to reveal Surskit, skating around and ready for battle.

"Time to even the score, right Pikachu?" Ash said as Pikachu jumped onto the battlefield.

The announcer held one of her flags up in the air and brought it down. "Battle begin!"

"Ash and Pikachu, get 'em get 'em get 'em!" Bonnie screamed.

Erin stared at the battle scene in excitement. "Druddigon, aren't you excited?" she asked. "This is going to be us someday!" She looked down at her Pokemon to find that it had fallen fast asleep. "Aww," she whined, "I thought you were going to watch. Oh well, return!" Druddigon disappeared into its pokeball. Her attention quickly went back to the battle, however, as the action began.

"Alright Surskit, use sticky web!" Viola commanded her Pokemon. It shot out several pink pellets, but Pikachu seemingly effortlessly dodged them. He twisted and turned, and they spattered harmlessly on the tree behind him.

"Oh, wow!" Serena exclaimed, "All of that training is really paying off!"

"So that's what he worked on after I went to bed!" Erin said. _Ash trained hard for this battle, and he made sure that all of his Pokemon were prepared for anything. I'll have to remember that._

"Alright Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" The yellow mouse pokemon jumped into the air and let off a massive blast of crackling electricity.

"Surskit, protect!" Viola countered. A green energy sphere appeared around Surskit, and the electricity harmlessly deflected off of it. "Now signal beam, go!" A purple beam of energy shot back at Pikachu, who flipped backwards, dodging it.

"Pikachu, use iron tail!" Pikachu's tail started to glow a brilliant white, before slamming it into Surskit, knocking it backwards towards Viola.

"Nice!" Erin yelled, completely enveloped by the heat of the battle.

"Alright!" Serena shouted, "Ash really nailed it!"

"That's true, but iron tail isn't very effective on Surskit. I wouldn't be surprised if that attack didn't do much damage," Clemont said worriedly.

"Alright, now let's refocus this battle," Viola said, "Surskit, time to use ice beam and create an ice battlefield!" Surskit's antennae started to glow while preparing to use the move.

"Pikachu, don't let Surskit use ice beam!" Ash warned. Pikachu jumped on to Surskit, causing the ice beam to go wild. Unfortunately, Surskit shook Pikachu off, and the battlefield became covered in ice as the white beam crashed down on top of it.

"What?" everybody said at once.

"Wonderful! Another picture perfect ice battlefield! Surskit, start skating!" Viola commanded.

"Oh no!" Bonnie cried, "It's just like the last battle!"

"The only difference is that Ash trained really hard for this battle," Serena said.

Erin watched her fists clench, knuckles whitening, as she watched the battle. _I just hate it when Serena gets worked up like this. It's just, I wonder if maybe there's something I can do to help. Wait, there is!_

She walked over to Serena, and quietly murmured into her ear, "Don't worry."

"Huh?" Serena said, turning to look at her. The others didn't seem to notice.

"Ash is going to win this battle." Erin was deathly calm, almost as if she was disembodied. She was downright terrified that somehow Serena would know that she had seen this before, would figure out that she knew everything that was going to happen to them, but she couldn't help but to smile a little as some of the tension left Serena's face, to be replaced by confusion.

"What? How do you know?" Serena hissed.

"You-you just have to believe me. Pikachu will KO Surskit, then Vivillon will KO Fletchling, then Pikachu will KO Vivillon. See, just watch." She pointed back at the battlefield, where a powerful signal beam and thunderbolt had just met. They clashed with one another, but the thunderbolt pushed through and electrocuted Surskit. It collapsed to the ground with swirls in it's eyes.

They turned back to each other, and Serena's face now held a look of awe. "How is that possible?"

Erin hesitated. "Look, Serena, I-I promise that I'll tell you. Just-not right now, okay? Can we just watch this battle?"

Serena looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she turned back to the battle. "I guess that's three thing you've promised me now," she said. "I'll remember that."

Fletchling and Vivillon now hovered on the field. "Alright, Fletchling, use steel wing!" Fletchling's wings began to glow, and it dove at the butterfly.

"Vivillon, use psychic!" Viola countered. Vivillon's eyes glowed, and it sent Fletchling tumbling to the ground. Fletchling struggled to its feet, then used steel wing again, sending Vivillon flying this time.

"Fletchling, use peck," Ash yelled.

"Vivillon, use gust!" Just as the bird was picking up speed, Vivillon sent a powerful burst of wind, blowing it away.

"Remember our special training!" Ash yelled determinedly. Fletchling regained its balance then started flying into the air. Everyone on the sidelines cheered. "Now, use razor wind!" Fletchling began to spin when Viola played her trump card.

"Vivillon, use sleep powder!"

A light green dust was blown over to Fletchling, settling around it. It cleared, and the Pokemon fell to the ground.

"I had no idea that Vivillon could use sleep powder!" Clemont said.

Bonnie and Alexa looked shocked, but Erin and Serena just stood there, smiling confidently. Erin watched as Ash looked over at them. There was a look of panic and horror on his face. However, once he saw their faces, his molded to fit theirs – determination.

"Fletchling, you can do this!" Ash yelled confidently. "Wake up, buddy! If you use razor wind, you can spin to get the powder off of you!" Fletchling stirred feebly, struggling against the powder. "I believe in you!" he yelled.

All of a sudden, Fletchling started to glow with a brilliant blue light. Its wings seemed to bloat, expanding outwards, and then the rest of its body followed suit. Its tailfeather expanded, becoming two, and a curl of feathers grew out of the back of its head. The blue light exploded, revealing a brand new Pokemon.

Erin gasped. "Did Fletchling just... evolve?" _How is that possible? It never evolved in this episode of the anime! Did I do something!_

"Wow!" Serena gasped. She rummaged in her pocket before drawing out the red square of her Pokedex. "What is that pokemon?"

FLETCHINDER, AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF FLETCHLING. ONCE IN FLIGHT, FLETCHINDER CAN REACH ITS TOP SPEED EXTREMELY QUICKLY, GIVING IT THE EDGE IN BATTLE BY ATTACKING ITS OPPONENTS BEFORE THEY CAN GET PREPARED.

"Awesome Fletchinder! You evolved!" Ash yelled. The newly evolved Pokemon burst into flames. The sleep powder instantly was incinerated. "You learned flame charge also! That's great!" He pointed at the shocked butterfly and gym leader standing in front of him. "Bet you never saw that coming! Now, Fletchinder, use flame charge!"

The bird, already fired up, shot straight up into the air and hit Vivillon straight in the chest. It drove Vivillon straight down into the ground, where it crashed in a massive explosion. The dust cleared to reveal Vivillon knocked out. Fletchinder circled overhead.

The announcer looked shocked as well, but she shook it off. "Vivillon is unable to battle, which means that the victor of the match is Ash!"

"Alright!" Ash yelled. He threw his hand into the air in celebration. Pikachu jumped into his free arm, while Fletchinder came down to land on his shoulder.

Everyone standing on the sidelines rushed down to congratulate Ash. "Ash, that was amazing!" she yelled, running up to him.

"It was amazing that Fletchinder evolved when he did. I thought Viola was going to KO him for sure." Clemont pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Awesome!" Bonnie yelled, jumping up and down. "Fletchinder is amazing! Such a cutie!"

Erin simply stared at him in shock. "Nice battle" was all that she could get out. What had she done? Ash's Fletchling wasn't supposed to evolve-that couldn't happen until the episode in the canyon!

Ash and Serena looked at her questioningly, but for completely different reasons. Serena stared daggers into her, while Ash simply seemed puzzled. Both of their attentions were diverted, however, after Viola walked over.

"Ash?" she said, "I have to say, Alexa was right. That was completely unexpected. Here is the Bug Badge to prove that you won a battle against me." The announcer held out a soft pillow with a metal badge shaped like a beetle on it.

Ash took it and thrust it into the air. "Alright, I won a bug badge!" he yelled, and Pikachu and Fletchinder chorused in agreement. He took a black case out of his backpack and carefully placed the badge into the first slot.

"Also," Alexa said, breaking into Ash's celebration, "I imaging that you're looking to challenge your next gym. In that case, how about the gym in Cyllage City?"

"Okay, sounds great!" Ash exclaimed. "In that case, I think we'll be heading out. Thanks!"

"Alright, bye everyone," Viola said, smiling and waving.

"I think I'll be seeing you all again sooner than you may think," Alexa announced with a wink.

On that note, the five of them headed out of the gym towards the Pokemon Center. Ash turned around. "Hey, Erin and Serena, where are you two headed from here?"

Serena stopped like a Deerling caught in headlights and started to blush. "Who, me? I... Uh, well... You see..."

Ash interrupted her. "I know! Why don't you two come along with us?"

Bonnie shouted her agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure that it'll be a lot of fun! Come with us, oh please?" She reached out and grabbed Erin with one hand and Serena with the other.

"Yeah," Clemont agreed, "It sounds like an excellent idea to me!"

"Thanks to you, I came up with my Santalune Gym strategy!" Ash said, "And if you'll help me from here on out, I'm sure that'll be awesome!"

Serena paused for a moment in thought, then looked up with a wink. "Sure, how could I possibly say no to all that?"

"Hey," Erin said, "I'm in too." She didn't even need to think about it first.

"Great!" Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont exclaimed.

"Ok," Erin said. "It's settled, then. We'll head out for the Cyllage Gym tomorrow!"

* * *

**< Later, Outside the Pokemon Center>**

"Come on out, Druddigon!" Erin yelled.

The pokeball arced through the air as it spun. It opened in a great flash to reveal Druddigon. "Druddigon!" it roared. It was incredible to Erin how fast it was growing. In a matter of a day, it had expanded from being the size of her forearm to coming up to her stomach. She petted her Pokemon's head.

"Who knows, in a couple of days you'll be as big as I am," she smiled down at it.

"Gon!"

"Alright Druddigon, when we get to Cyllage City, I want to have a gym battle also! So, we have to start training right away! Dexter says that you can learn dragon claw and thunder fang, so we can work on those moves now!"

"Dru druddigon drud!"

"Awesome! Now, I want you to use scratch on that tree!" Erin said, pointing at a nearby oak tree.

One of Druddigon's claws started to glow, and it rushed forwards and took a wild swipe at the tree. Shards of wood went flying everywhere, and three deep gouges were left in the bark.

"Amazing, Druddigon!" Erin yelled. She flew forwards and hugged her pokemon. "With power like that, there's no way that we can loose! Now, I want you to try something. Can you try to draw more power into your claws for scratch? If you can, I'm sure that you'll get dragon claw in no time!"

"Drud," it replied with a nod. It used scratch again, but instead of rushing forwards immediately, it stood still, trying to generate power. When it did dash forwards to strike the tree, its attack was much more powerful, and it took a solid chunk out of the tree.

"Erin!" She turned around quickly to see Serena running towards her. "Druddigon looks great!"

"Thanks so much!" Erin replied. She turned back to Druddigon. "Now, you keep trying that, okay?"

"Drud!"

Serena smiled, then her eyes clouded over and she looked back at her. "Why did you tell me what you did? During the battle, I mean."

"I-I don't know. I mean, it didn't all happen, did it?" Erin said, averting her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look at Serena. "I had no idea that Fletchinder would evolve when he did."

"Well, I guess that's true..." Serena said with a pout. She sighed, then moved on. "Anyways, come on inside! Clemont made dinner, and I cooked some delicious pokepuffs!"

WHAM! The ground shook as a huge tree tumbled to the ground. Dust was stirred up as a certain exuberant Pokemon roared "DRUDDIGON!"

Serena and Erin whirled around to see the cave Pokemon standing over a fallen tree, claws glowing a brilliant green. "Druddigon, that's great! You learned dragon claw. Now, come on, time to eat." The two of them headed into the Pokemon center, where hot food and thought of Cyllage City awaited.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	5. Rivals, Old and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: Ash won his first gym badge from the Santalune City gym leader Viola. However, Erin was shocked when Fletchinder evolved, something that didn't happen in her anime version of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on Fanfiction.net: Boy, did this chapter turn out different than I expected. Big shout outs to Jdishd and to three guests for reviewing! Your support gets me going on the next chapter, so thanks for that. Please R&R, and enjoy as always! (Note: Pokemon is not owned by Pokefan87)

**< Lumiose City>**

"Hey Clemont," Erin said, "That battle with Clembot yesterday was really something."

The five companions were walking down one of the many streets of Lumiose City. The city was alive, filled with life. She hadn't had enough time the last time she and Serena were here to fully appreciate it.

"Yeah, and now we're off to Cyllage City!" Ash exclaimed. He looked at Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder, and grinned.

"I know," Serena said, "We can go and visit the professor at his lab! It'll be lots of fun, and I baked some macarons also!" She showed them a basket filled with multicolored pastries.

"Mmm, yummy," Bonnie drooled. "I can't wait!"

"This sounds like a fantastic idea," Clemont remarked.

"I'm in," Erin said. "I can show him my Druddigon too. He said he wanted to see it after it hatched."

"Great!" Ash started walking down the street towards the lab. "Let's get going."

* * *

 

**< Later, at the Pokemon Lab>**

"So the five of you have decided to travel together. That sounds like a wonderful idea." Professor Sycamore had greeted them at the door, wearing his lab coat.

"We brought macarons to share!" Serena said, showing him the basket.

All of a sudden, Erin remembered something. _Macarons... Wait, doesn't team rocket show up in this episode of the anime?_ _Maybe I could_ _try to stop them._ Making a mental note of that fact, she excitedly showed the professor her pokeball. "My egg hatched into a Druddigon!"

"Amazing!" the professor replied. "I would like to see it, and I can't wait to get some of those macarons, but I'm particularly busy at the moment, and I need to wrap up some research that I'm conducting."

Sycamore's assistant looked up at them. "I know, why don't we take a break for tea?" she said, smiling.

"Ok," everyone but Erin agreed. She hung back as the others started to walk away.

Serena looked over with a frown. "Erin, is everything okay? Aren't you coming?"

Erin looked down, nervous. "There's just one thing that I need to take care of first. I'll be right there, okay?"

Serena looked confused for a moment, then smiled brilliantly. "Sure, no problem! Don't keep us waiting too long, okay?" She turned around, then started walking. "Come on Ash, lets go."

Erin watched them go, then backtracked out the front door. She slowly strolled along the front of the Pokemon lab until she came across a wooden bench. She sat down, and drew her pokeball from its place on her belt. She sighed, then steeled herself for what she was about to do.

"Druddigon, come on out."

With a brilliant flash, the dragon emerged from the pokeball with a roar. It was now four days since Druddigon had hatched, and it had grown massively. Erin was barely taller than it, and with its wings furled out, Druddigon dwarfed her in width. "I can't believe how fast you've grown," she whispered to it, stroking its rocky head. "I was able to hold you when you first hatched. Now look at you."

"Drud," it said in agreement, closing its eyes as if remembering the day.

"Now, there is a group of very bad guys that are coming. They will have a gray truck with them. When they show up, I want you to use dragon claw on it. Got it?"

"Gon," Druddigonagreed with a nod.

"Cool. Now, I need you to remember, this will be our first real battle, so I want you to battle extra hard, okay?" She clenched her fists. _If I can't beat team rocket now, how can I possibly hope to ever beat Ash? I have to win, I just know it!_

A sudden screeching came from down the street. Erin didn't look up, but she took a deep sigh. "Okay Druddigon, use dragon claw!" She spun around with a sudden fire in her eyes.

Druddigon let out a deep roar. "DRUUUUUDDIIIGOOOOON!" It lept towards the gray van bearing down on the Pokemon Lab. The claws on its hand began to glow a brilliant white, then green fire shot up it. It took a wild swipe at the vehicle, and it flew away from the street, landing on its side on the curb with a massive crash.

Erin rushed towards Druddigon and gave it a massive hug. "WOW! Druddigon, that was simply the most amazing dragon claw ever!"

Druddigon sweatdropped as he stared over Erin's shoulder at the three figures emerging from the wreck of the car. "Gon!" it said urgently.

The first was a woman in a white jumpsuit and an outrageous purple hairdo. She gave a hacking cough. "No fair," she wheezed, "somebody ruined our plan before we even got to the professor."

The second was a man in the same outfit, and the third was a Meowth. When the smoke cleared, he was the first one to notice her. "Twerpette!" he yowled in a ridiculous accent, "And she got herself a Druddigon too!"

The three of them sprang into position.

"Prepare for trouble, you beat our van."

"And make it double, but not our plan."

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare for a fight."

"Meowth that's right!"

Jessie jumped on top of the ruined van. "Now look what you did, brat. You'll pay for this!"

James jumped up alongside her. "Say, that Druddigon looks valuable. Let's nab it, and give it to the boss! Inkay, go get that twerp."

Erin narrowed her eyes at James. "Oh yeah?" she yelled. "You'll never get my Druddigon in a million years! Druddigon, use dragon claw."

Druddigon's claws glowed green again, and it rushed towards Inkay. James smiled, and said, "Inkay, be a dear. Dodge, then use tackle!" The purple squid floated just under Druddigon's outstretched claws, then started gearing up for a counter attack.

"Druddigon, catch it with bite!" Erin countered. Inkay shot towards Druddigon, but was stopped cold by its glowing fangs. "Alright, now throw Inkay!" Druddigon spun around and launched Inkay back into team rocket, knocking James down on the van.

"Ooh, you're going to pay for this! Inkay, use psybeam!"

Erin's eyes widened as Inkay started charging a purple beam of energy. _Oh no! Druddigon doesn't know any special attacks to counter!_ "Druddigon, dodge!"

Druddigon started to turn, then began to glow with a purple haze. _What?_ Erin watched in amazement as a beam of purple energy shot from Druddigon's mouth to counter the beam of energy in midair. The two clashed, causing a massive explosion of energy. Erin grunted and shielded her face with her arms, long hair billowing backwards in the wind. Her Poketch blinked on, seemingly on its own accord.

DRUDDIGON HAS JUST LEARNED DRAGON RAGE. THIS MOVE WILL DO A SET AMOUNT OF DAMAGE REGARDLESS OF TYPE.

"Druddigon, you learned dragon rage! That's great!" Erin called.

"Erin!" she spun around as Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Professor Sycamore came running forwards. "Are you okay?" Serena and Ash asked. "Team rocket!" Bonnie and Clemont exclaimed.

"Guys, I need you to let me handle this," Erin said with certainty in her voice. "This fight is for me and Druddigon." Everyone looked like they wanted to protest, but Ash simply nodded.

With newfound confidence, Erin turned back to the battle in front of her. "Druddigon, lets finish this up." She pointed at the three villains struggling to their feet across from her. "Use dragon rage!"

Druddigon let out a roar as it's body was engulfed by purple flames. "DRU-DDI-GON!" A massive shot of light erupted, shooting into team rocket, who were sent flying. They disappeared over the horizon in a flash.

Erin held her breath for a moment, then yelled "Alright, we won!" She rushed over to Druddigon. "I'm really proud of you. You learned dragon rage, after all."

"Drud." Druddigon held out its arm and flexed its bicep, and Erin collapsed in a hopeless pile of giggles.

"Druddigon is really strong!" Erin looked up to see Ash standing in front of her. "Maybe you and I could get a battle sometime? I'm sure Pikachu and I could learn a lot. Right, buddy?"

"Pika!"

Erin stood stock still. "Who, me?" She felt a red heat rising to her cheeks, and she fought furiously to stop it. _What? No, I can't be blushing. Why am I blushing?_ "Um, sure. That would be a lot of fun."

Bonnie oogled at her. "Aw, you blush just like Serena does. So cute!"

"What!" Erin yelled, her voice squeaking at the end, causing her to blush even more. Everybody started laughing at this, except Serena, who crossed her arms and humphed.

"You know, Erin, that Druddigon is really something!" Professor Sycamore said, looking over at her Pokemon. "You know, its moves were quite powerful. I believe it may have the ability sheer force, which give all moves a lot more power."

"Wait, really? So my Druddigon is more powerful than other Druddigons?" Erin asked.

"Yes. In fact, I believe it may be strong enough to handle Mega Evolution!"

Everybody said something at the same time.

"Druddigon can Mega Evolve?"

"How do you know?"

"Is that true?"

"Are we ever going to eat the macarons?"

"Hang on, now just wait a second everybody!" Professor Sycamore said, frantically waving his hands in front of the five trainers who were in his face. "Now, this is just speculation, but there are rumors that Druddigonite has been discovered in the mountains far to the west of here. Reports of a much larger than average Druddigon have started circulating among the scientific community. The belief now is that a Mega Druddigon has been trained by a powerful trainer."

"Did you hear that, Druddigon?" Erin asked the cave Pokemon. "You can Mega Evolve!"

"Gon!"

"Hey everyone," a shout came from the doorway of the lab. It was the professor's assistant. "Macarons and tea are ready, if anyone is still interested."

The group started to moved back inside, with ideas of Mega Evolution the hot topic on everyone's mind.

"Oh, yeah, Ash, there's one more thing." Professor Sycamore said.

"What's that?"

"A strange guy came by yesterday, asking for a guy with a Pikachu. When I told him you had left, he rushed off after you. You haven't seen him, have you?"

Ash scratched the back of his neck. "That's weird, no we haven't. We'll keep an eye out for him, okay?"

* * *

**< Route Five>**

The forest was dense. The knotted trees twisted in on each other, providing perfect refuge for the Pokemon that resided within them. Deep shadows fell on the path that had been gouged out of the wilderness.

"Won't this forest ever end?" Serena grumbled. The five companions were walking down route five. In usual fashion, Bonnie had rushed ahead, Clemont had fallen behind, and Ash, Serena, and Erin were all bunched up in the middle.

"Hey, I think I see a clearing up ahead," Bonnie called back.

"Finally," Serena groaned. "Maybe we can have some lunch when we get there."

"Yeah, but first, Pikachu and I need to do some training for the Cyllage gym!" Ash exclaimed. "We've got to be ready, right Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" the mouse exclaimed, pumping its fist in excitement. Electricity crackled from its cheeks.

"Hey Ash," Erin said, "Would you mind if I joined you? I was thinking that maybe I might challenge the Cyllage gym as well." She fingered her pokeball on her belt nervously. _And after we've done that, I'm going to challenge you too, Ash Ketchum._

"Sure!" Ash said in agreement, "Sounds like fun."

Erin glanced over at Serena, who had gone from looking tired to downright dejected. "Serena?" The honey-haired girl looked over at her. "I know that you and Fennekin have never really had a real battle before, but do you think you might want to train with us too?"

Serena looked surprised. "Who, me?" she asked, "I don't know, I would never want jump between you and _Ash_ , now would I?" Her lip quivered a bit, then she turned away.

Erin's mouth hung open. Never, had she ever seen that much venom from Serena. _Shit, she thinks that I'm hitting on Ash._ Before she got a chance to respond, Serena bowed her head and speed walked forwards to catch up with Bonnie.

"Serena?" Ash called. _He is clueless_ , Erin decided. _He is simply the densest boy ever when it comes to girls._

She scowled at him. "You know, you could try to make her feel better." She stopped walking, and waited for Clemont, as Ash kept walking, utterly confused.

The inventor was exhausted, taking haltering steps in a futile attempt to keep up. Once he caught up to Erin, however, he started walking at a normal pace. "What was all of that about?" he asked, pointing a finger at Serena, who looked like she was making conversation with Bonnie.

"It-It's complicated," Erin faltered. She desperately looked for a way to change the subject. "Hey, do you have any inventions that you've been working on?"

The mood seemed to lighten instantly. "Well, as a matter of fact, I do," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I have created an automatic sandwich maker! I call it the Sandwich Slicer Dicer Stacker Mark Two!" He looked off into the distance, pointing his finger at some unknown entity, before coming back into reality. "I was going to use it to make lunch."

"Uh," Erin said, "Did the first one explode?"

"Only a little bit!" Clemont said embarassedly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Wonderful." At that, the two of them burst out laughing

* * *

**< Later, in the Clearing>**

The clearing was placed on the precipice of a deep ravine. The crew had set up camp about an hour earlier. Erin and Ash were training with Druddigon and Froakie, respectively. Erin had successfully gotten Druddigon to unlock its egg move, thunder fang, and Ash and Froakie were practicing a double team combo.

"Druddigon, you're doing really well." Erin patted her Pokemon's rocky head. She glanced over at the lunch table. Clemont was tinkering, working on his Sandwich Slicer Dicer Stacker Mark Three. Bonnie and Dedenne were running around in circles. And then Serena...

Erin sighed. She had tried to console Serena, but she didn't even acknowledge her existence. She was just sitting at the table dejectedly, holding Fennekin, who was staring up at her worriedly.

A powerful updraft blew in from the ravine behind the two of them. Erin gasped as the cold wind blew up her back, but Druddigon closed its eyes, as if drawing in the gust. It furled out its wings to full length. Erin gasped. She had never seen it do this before.

She held out her watch and pointed it at Druddigon. "Dexter, what is Druddigon doing," she whispered.

NORMALLY, DRUDDIGON USE THEIR WINGS TO RE-ENERGIZE THEMSELVES. HOWEVER, THIS DRUDDIGON APPEARS TO BE ATTEMPTING TO FLY.ERIN, BE ADVISED THAT DRUDDIGON ARE UNABLE TO FLY. THEIR WINGS ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD THEIR MASSIVE BODY UP.

"Druddigon can't fly?" she shouted. She watched in horror as her Pokemon turned, wings outstretched, and perched itself on the edge of the precipice. "Druddigon, no!" she screamed as it took a mighty leap and jumped over the edge. The dragon seemed to hover for a second, then plummeted towards the ground. Erin, without thinking, launched herself over the edge after Druddigon.

As the two of them began to freefall to the river far below, Erin screamed, "Use dragon claw on the wall to slow us down!" One of Druddigon's arms stretched out, and scraped against the side of the wall, slowing their fall. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and Druddigon protectively wrapped its wings around its trainer as they crashed into the stony ravine down below.

Erin laid still on Druddigon's chest for a moment. She was alive. Druddigon had saved her. _Druddigon._ The Pokemon had taken an insane ammount of damage from the fall, she just knew it. She crawled over to its head and saw swirls in its eyes. "Thank god Druddigon's okay," she whispered. She fumbled for its pokeball. "Druddigon, return!" The dragon disappeared in a red flash.

"That was incredibly foolish." Erin looked around for the voice, and she noticed a figure, cloaked in shadows at the side of the ravine. "Your Druddigon is obviously not well trained if it doesn't know better than to try to fly. You really must be a weaker trainer than I thought."

Erin tried to stand up, furious with who ever had just insulted her and Druddigon. As she did, though, her head spun furiously, and she was forced to sit back down. "Who are you?" she breathed, barely audible.

The figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal a boy about her age, with short gray hair. "My name is Paul, and as far as you are concerned, I never existed. Pidgeot, standby!" He tossed a pokeball and a large bird appeared in a flash. "Take her back to Ash and the others."

"Paul?" she barely had time to whisper before the Pidgeot picked her up in its claws and carried her upwards. The world spun around her, and she passed out in the majestic bird's claws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	6. Discussions and Concussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: Erin and Druddigon thwarted a Team Rocket plan to attack Professor Sycamore's lab. Later, Erin and Druddigon end up in the bottom of a deep ravine, where they meet a familliar face from the anime before blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got Kudos! Thanks to bpwheels11 for reading! Your feedback gives me extra motivation to write, and I appreciate everyone who has read my story on this site so far!
> 
> Note on ff.net: [A/N] This chapter took me a lot longer than all of the other ones that I've done so far. This is somewhat of a filler, but it needs to happen. After this, I promise there will be more action. Also, thanks to DrafteeDragon for reviewing! So, here's chapter six! (Note: Je ne possède pas Pokemon)

* * *

**< At the Route 5 Pokemon Center>**

A harsh metalic sound pushed through the black in Erin's mind. She hurt all over. _Where am I? What happened?_ She opened her eyes to see a blur of colors. The sound came again. It was a low steady beep, coming from the machine next to where she was lying. She was on a soft bed.

"Thank Arceus, she's awake. Wigglytuff, go get the others," a soft female voice called out.

Erin rubbed her hands over her eyes, then remembered what had happened. She shot up, then felt a wave of dizziness and nausea wash over her. Groaning, she carefully laid back down. All that she could manage was to whisper, "Druddigon."

"Woah, don't get up so fast. Take it easy. Your Druddigon is fine. It took an absurd amount of damage from the fall, but it's a tough Pokemon. It'll live. You, on the other hand, have a concussion. You need to get a lot of rest." The speaker was nurse Joy. Erin blearily rubbed her hands over her eyes.

"How did I get here?" Erin croaked. She moved herself into an upright position, only slowly this time.

Nurse Joy frowned. "A Pidgeot showed up with you in its claws, with your friends following it. The bird just dumped you here then flew off. Nobody was able to tell me anything, so I have no idea what you did to get yourself in this condition."

Erin collapsed against the bedboard, exhausted by the effort of sitting up. In a dull monotone, she said, "Druddigon tried to fly. It couldn't."

"How did that get you concussed?" Nurse Joy asked.

"It jumped off the cliff. I jumped after it."

"YOU WHAT!"

Just as nurse Joy looked like she was gearing up for a lecture on Pokemon safety, Erin's friends barged in.

"Erin, you're awake!" Ash called excitedly, rushing over.

"Yes, this is fantastic!" Clemont exclaimed. "We were beginning to worry about you."

"Guys, I'm fine," Erin said tiredly. She glanced around the room and searched for the one person who was missing. "Where's Serena?"

"I don't know. She said that she would come by later," Ash said with shrug. Erin stared up at him in disappointment. _She's still mad at me. Of course she is._ She sank back down into the bed.

"Where's Druddigon?" Ash pointed over at a window on one side of the room. Through it, Erin could see her Pokemon, bathed under yellow light, slowly recuperating. She made a move to get up and go to her Pokemon, but Ash held her back. She tried to push back against him, but she was too weak. "Let me go!" she yelled.

"Erin, stop, you're going to hurt yourself."

"Fine," she pouted.

"Hey," Ash said more seriously, "You know you shouldn't jump off cliffs like that. You could have hurt yourself worse than you already have."

Erin stared at him like he had lost his mind. "Ash Ketchum, you are unbelievable! You've thrown yourself off more building than I care to count! Now I do it to save my Pokemon, and here you are acting like it's the worst thing I could have done in that situation." _Why on Earth is he being such a hypocrite?_

"This is different!" He was incredibly worked up.

"How? How is this any different?" Erin probed.

"Well, I don't know, maybe I'm just worried about you!"

"Well," Erin retorted, the full implications of what he had just said not fully registering with her. "Have you ever stopped to consider how worried the rest of us get whenever you pull one of you crazy stunts?"

"No, but... I guess you're right. Maybe I am overreacting a bit," he said with a laugh. "Do I really throw myself off buildings that much, though?"

"Yes, all the time!" Erin cried, and the two of them burst out laughing. Erin's head started to hurt, and her laugh devolved into a hacking cough.

Ash stood up and turned to the door. "Get some rest," he called back over his shoulder, "That way we can start moving out towards Cyllage City again tomorrow."

Erin couldn't help but to grin as he left. _That's so Ash. Always looking forwards to his next gym battle._

* * *

**< Later>**

The door to Erin's room creaked open. The center was dim, with the lights turned down for the night. Erin watched as a lone figure crept in.

"Serena? Is that you?" she called.

"Huh?" Serena said, "Oh, hi Erin. I didn't realize that you were awake. It's late." She awkwardly walked over to the bed.

Erin sighed. "Look, can we talk about what happened yesterday?"

She instantly stiffened up. In a strained tone, she said "I don't see what there is to talk about."

"I think that there's been a misunderstanding," Erin pushed on, "You see, I-"

Serena stopped her. "Yes, I think I see it perfectly well. You just show up in my life one day, and then all this happens." She waved her hands in the air. "And now you expect me to sit and listen while you and Ash go-"

"Serena!" Erin interjected.

"What?" She was bright red, ready to put up a fight.

"I don't like Ash," Erin deadpanned.

"Oh," Serena said. She blushed far deeper than she already was.

"I respect him as a battler, and I want to beat him, but it would just be weird," Erin said.

"Huh? Why would it be weird?" Serena looked genuinely confused.

 _Why would it be w_ _ei_ _rd? I've watched him for years, and he's an imature, bratty, hopelessly incompetent kid. Or, at least he is on screen._ "I just can't, okay? It-it just is wierd."

"That's what you just said."

"It's too sudden

"That's another thing. You just show up. One day my biggest problem is Rhyhorn, and then you show up and everything happens." Serena said. "How do you know so much about Pokemon?"

 _Deny._ Erin made a big show out of sighing. "I told you, I'm from Kanto."

"What town?" Serena was staring her down, and all of a sudden Erin broke a cold sweat.

"Pallet Town?"

"Liar. Ash would have known you. Who are you really, Erin?" Serena asked. She was on the end of her line, Erin could tell.

 _You know what? I'm done with this game._ "Do you really want to know, Serena?" she whispered intently. "Do you really want to know how I know you, and Ash, and Bonnie and Clemont and every person Ash has ever traveled with? I could tell you."

Serena gaped at her, and it wasn't until that moment that Erin realized that she was in over her head. She had so much power right now over her friends. She could tell them everything that would happen in the next year. "I-I don't know. It's just-Everything has been happening so fast." She slumped against Erin's bed.

"Yeah."

It was a long time before either one spoke again. When Serena finally did, her voice was hollow. "I think that I just need some time... to think."

Erin watched her as she slipped out of the room into the dark night.

* * *

**< Later>**

Thunk.

Erin sat up straight as she heard a noise come from the window. _What was that?_ A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She trained her eyes, trying to see through the darkness of the night.

Thunk. The noise came again, only this time Erin thought that she saw a flash of blue. _Maybe it's a Pokemon._ Nervously, she called out "Who's there?"

The response was silence. Erin sat still, somewhat scared but mostly curious. She wished that she had Druddigon, but for now, he was still in the med-bay, healing.

"Pidgeot, use peck!" The window shattered into a million pieces, and a figure darted into the room through the hole.

Erin opened her mouth to scream, but she was stopped as the person put his hand over her mouth. "Let me go!" she managed to make out.

"I need to talk to you," the figure said, "But nobody can know that I am here, understood?"

Erin's eyes went wide, and she nodded. As soon as he let go, she drew back. "What the hell do you want?"

"I want to offer you my help." The mysterious boy drew back a low hanging hood from his head to reveal a face that Erin knew well.

"Paul?" _Why is he in Kalos? He never left Sinnoh in the Anime!_

"You," Paul said, his face darkening. He wore his trademark scowl, hand resting on the majestic bird Pokemon resting behind him. "You're different from the rest. I need to know why."

 _Does he know?_ "What do you mean? I'm from Kanto." By now, she had said the lie so many times that she almost had started to believe it.

"No, you aren't. I can see it, in the way that you talk, and move, and look at Pokemon. You come from some place else." He shifted to his other foot.

Erin gaped at him. "But-How? Why do you care so much?"

"You really don't get it, do you?" His face turned bitter, and he turned away. "They took my Electivire. I woke up in a strange house with a man who claimed he was my brother, and all that I could remember was that Electivire was gone."

"Reggie?" Erin said without thinking. _What the fuck is going on here?_

Paul spun around. "How do you know his name?" he intoned. Erin tried to shy away from his intensity, but she couldn't escape his look. "I knew you were different. You know things. I knew it as soon as I saw you walking with Ash." His eyes became hungry. "Who am I, Erin? Why can't I remember anything?"

"I-I don't know! I don't know how I got here, or why I'm here. All that I know is that I'm not home." A spring of untapped feelings that Erin hadn't realized that she had came pouring out. She missed her house, her friends, her world. She wanted to go home. "I just don't know."

Paul let out a low laugh. "Well, that makes two of us. I can show you what I know." He gestured to Pidgeot, who was still standing behind him. "Use hidden power."

The bird started to glow, and a light green aura washed over Paul and Erin. Erin gasped as the back of her and Paul's hands started to glow, brighter and brighter, until a black mark was visible on their hands. They were identical; a black line with three smaller lines running through it. She looked down in horror. _Where did this come from? How could this have happened?_

"Will you trust me?" Paul asked as the green light coursed through his body, lighting up his face with a ghostly illumination. "Will you tell me who I really am?"

Erin made a split second decision. "Yes," she said, "But not here, and not now. Evidently you've been following up. I'm sure there will be a good time."

"It's a deal."

Two hands reached out and shook as the ghostly mark intertwined between them. The light faded, and Paul slipped back out of the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	7. Breaking Titles at the Battle Chateau!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot bunnies are strong with this chapter... *Evil Laugh* This is the second to last chapter before this story gets good, I promise.
> 
> Note on ff.net [A/N] We're back with another chapter! I really wanted to get this one out on time, so I decided to split the chapter in half. I have a huge paper due Tuesday, so I've been working nonstop on that. Ash v Erin will be next chapter, so wait on it! As always, thanks for the continued support and I hope you enjoy it! (Note: Pokemon is owned by Nintendo. N-I-N-T-E-N-D-O. Not me. Got it?)

 

* * *

**< At a Route 5 Pokemon Center, Nine Days Later>**

"Ta-da!" Bonnie and Serena exclaimed.

"What's that?" Ash asked, looking at the picture that Serena was showing them.

"Pika?"

"The Battle Chateau," Serena said excitedly.

"The Battle Chateau?" Ash asked, as clueless as ever.

"I've never heard of it before," Clemont said thoughtfully.

Erin smiled. "I know what it is! It's where trainers battle, like, in a sophisticated way." On a whim, she stood up, crossing her legs and flourishing her hand in the air. "If you please, most noble Duchess, I would now like to pound your Pokemon into the ground. To a good battle!" She took a deep bow, lost her balence, and fell face first onto the table in front of her. The entire group burst into a chorus of laughter.

"Ash," Serena exclaimed, "You're going to love this place! You get to battle, and it's nearby! Let's go! When a trainer at the Chateau wins a battle, they win something, though I'm not sure quite what." She smiled at him and blushed, tilting her head to the side.

Ash, completely oblivious to the antics of his female companions, said, "Alright, that sounds cool! Maybe you're awarded some sort of badge."

Bonnie's eyes went wide. "Or maybe you win a cake? I love cake." She sighed, drifting into her own private fantasy of over sized deserts."

Clemont let out an embarrassed laugh, shaking his head. Serena peered down at her guide. "Now let's see..."

All of a sudden, a large finger was in Erin's face. She pushed it away and said, "Hey, who's that?"

"Noble title, yo." It was a large kid, with a Fletchinder on his shoulder, a red Fletchinder cap, and a bandage over his cheek.

"Fletchinder!"

"Woah," Ash said, "you've got a Fletchinder too? So what's a noble title?"

Both the large kid and the smaller one at his side looked surprised. The little one moved to speak. "Nico, he actually listened to what you said, yo, yo." He looked identical to the older kid, but his bandage was on his nose.

"Yo, Yo, Yo not from around here yo," Nico said.

"Yo, Yo, check out the legendary Riviere walk Yo!" The two of them started strutting around the five of them. Erin bored her eyes into them. _Now of course I remember these idiots from the anime. I could take out that kid's Fletchling in five seconds._

"You should learn it if you gonna be here, yo."

"Uh," Ash said, taken aback.

"Do you think that they're rapping?" Serena asked innocently, and the two boy stood stock still in horror and embarrassment. Erin laughed out loud at how ridiculous the writing on this episode was, only mortifying the boys even more.

Ash snapped them out of their depression. "So, noble title?"

"It's kinda hard to explain, yo."

"But we're heading to the Battle Chateau now, yo."

"Come with us and check it out for yourself, yo, yo."

"Great!" Ash exclaimed, standing up. "It'll be the perfect warm up before I challenge the Cyllage Gym."

"Yeah," Erin agreed. "I'm sure that I need the practice as well. Druddigon and I are ready to go!" She stood up as well.

"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse on Ash's shoulder agreed.

"Warm up? I wouldn't be too sure about that. It may be tougher than you think."

"You're gonna be floored when you get there yo."

Ash introduced himself. "I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu."

"I'm Clemont, and it's a pleasure to meet you both."

"And I'm Bonnie"

"Serena's my name. Hi there!"

"I'm Erin."

"Well, I'm Nico, and my partner is Fletchinder."

"And I'm Chester, and my partner is Fletchling, yo."

* * *

**< Route 5>**

"So today's the first time you challenge the Battle Chateau, Chester?" Ash asked.

"Uh huh, it sure is," Chester replied.

Erin, walking behind the rest of the group, was furiously going over battle strategy in her head. Sighing, she looked up, searching for something in the sky. She found it in a tiny black speck hovering far overhead, and smiled. True to what he said, Paul was still following them.

* * *

**< Flashback>**

_Paul sat back, stunned at what Erin had told him. "I competed in four leagues, and lost all of them? What kind of loser trainer was I?"_

_Erin tried to comfort him. "Paul, you're not a loser. You and Ash had an intense battle in the Sinnoh League – His Infernape just activated blaze and was able to take out Electivire at the last moment, that's all."_

_"That guy beat me? He's so weak."_

_Erin stared at him exasperatedly. "Look, if you think that Ash is such an awful trainer, then why are you following him?"_

_"Because your group has the answers that I need." Paul said haughtily, turning away. "I wouldn't bother with you otherwise."_

_"Oh my Arceus, you are impossible! Why don't you just travel with us? You obviously aren't going to stop following us."_

_"I can't travel with Ash, okay? I'll just keep following you until I get the answers I need." he sniffed._

_Erin sighed and looked at him. He was the most infuriating person she had met so far, and he was worse than he was on the show. "Fine, but you can't keep me from talking to you." Why she would ever want to was a good question._

* * *

**< End Flashback>**

Erin was jolted out of her thoughts as Nico said, "Yo, there it is, yo!"

"Wow, check it out!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh," Serena gasped, "It's gorgeous."

The serene mansion rose high above them. Beautiful windows and spiraling towers loomed over the river. A grand set of double doors was framed by an intricately carved gate. Floating over the river, a large battlefield was visible in the back.

"What's written up there?" Ash asked, looking at the gate.

"Battle Chateau: Prove your strength with a title," Clemont read.

Serena and Ash pushed the door open, and everybody gasped. Erin followed the rest of the group inside.

"It's beautiful," Serena said in awe.

A person in a maid's uniform stood at the end of the marble foyer. She bowed, and said, "Baron Nico, the battle chateau welcomes you with open arms."

"Baron?" Ash asked as Nico walked forwards.

"I brought my brother along with me today. He'd like to have his debut battle."

"I'm Chester, very pleased to meet you."

Ash and Erin walked forwards to stand next to Nico and Chester.

"I'd like to have a battle too," Ash said confidently.

"So would I," Erin said.

"Oh," the woman said, "and you are?"

"I'm Ash, and I come from Pallet Town in the Kanto region."

"And I'm Erin."

"Well, well, well," a voice came from the side. "It's the honorable Barron Nico. It's a pleasure to see your brother make his debut." It was a bespectacled man in formal dress.

"Well, thank you," Chester said.

"This is the Chateau owner, Duke Turner," Nico gestured.

"Pleased to meet you. It is my honor to welcome a guest who traveled all the way from the Kanto region," Duke Turner said.

Erin watched as they were led off towards the sitting room. Serena oohed and ahed as they walked through the grand halls. Finally, they came across the sitting room. Duke Turner walked over to a podium near the entrance.

"I would like everyone to welcome the honorable Baron Nico." His words were met with a round of applause. "In addition, seeing that we have three new knights who will be making their debut appearance, we will be holding an elimination tournament to determine who will gain the title of Baron. If any other new knights are willing to take the challenge, they should step forwards to the podium."

Erin looked around the room expectantly, and watched as a cloaked woman stepped forwards. She had a green cloak, patterned with swirls, and the Pokemon belt strapped to her waist showed that she had six Pokemon with her. "I will accept this challenge, Duke Turner," she said.

"Ah, Knight Cerys. I was wondering when you would decide to have your first battle here," Duke Turner said. "Alright, so it is decided. The tournament between Knights Chester, Ash, Erin, and Cerys will commence in fifteen minutes time." The noble man stepped down from the podium and slipped into a side room.

"Grant!" a call came from behind the group. Erin spun around to see a woman with blond hair yelling up at a man hanging from the ceiling. _Hey, isn't that Viola?_ She watched as Viola gave   
Grant a wave, and he waved back.

Ash was not subtle. "Viola, hey! Over here!" he yelled across the peaceful sitting room. Everybody frowned at him, and Serena and Erin face palmed.

Viola looked up and noticed him. She walked over. "Hey there Ash and Erin, who would've thought I'd be running into you."

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I love the Chateau," she said with a smile. "I actually have the noble title of duchess." She was interrupted by a loud crash coming from behind them. Everybody spun around to see the man who had been climbing on the wall sprawled out on the marble. "Oh, Grant, you realize this is the third time this month?" Viola sighed.

"Sorry," Grant said. "I just can't help it. The beauty of the walls here simply call to me, I cannot resist. They are pristine in their glory. You do see the beauty in the Battle Chateau's walls, don't you Viola?"

Viola sweatdropped. "You can talk about their beauty all that you want, but I'll never understand the appeal of walls."

"Um, do you guys know each other?" Ash asked.

"His name's Grant, and he's never seen a wall he doesn't love. Also, he's strong. He's the Cyllage city gym leader." Viola winked at Ash.

"Woah, really?" Ash exclaimed. "I'm headed to Cyllage city, where I'm going to challenge you!"

"Yeah," Erin said, "Me too!"

Grant looked like he was ready to respond, when a voice called out over the hubbub of the waiting room. "The first round pairings of the novice tournament have been decided. First, we will have Ash versus Chester, then we will have Erin versus Cerys. Would the first two participants please make their way to the battlefield?

* * *

**< Round One: Chester vs Ash>**

The judge stood at the front of the battlefield. "Ash and Chester, whoever wins this battle will be moving on to the finals of this tournament."

"Right!" Ash said.

"Well, I've been training long and hard for this day," Chester agreed.

"Then let's get underway."

Erin stood up on the balcony next to Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. She could hear Viola and Grant discussing Ash's battle style in the background. _If I win, and Ash doesn't loose somehow, then I'll be facing him for the first time. Am I ready for this?_

The two participants each drew a pokeball from their belts and held them out so that the buttons on the front touched. "To a good battle," they chorused, before turning and walking back to their respective sides.

"Okay, Pikachu, get in there," Ash called. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and bounded into the battlefield. "This is our first battle here, and I want to win it with you." He clenched his fists, and Pikachu let out a murmur of agreement.

"And my Pokemon is Fletchling!" Chester yelled, tossing the ball. In a flash, the red bird appeared, fluttering by Chester.

"Fletchling's a flying type," Ash said.

"Ash should have a type advantage here," Erin commented. "He's good to go."

Chester smiled confidently. "I've been training for this day with my brother. Fletchling's stronger than you think."

"Now let the battle begin!"

Ash took the first move. "Alright, use thunderbolt!" Pikachu's cheeks crackled, and it's body lit up with electricity. A massive bolt of lightning streaked towards Fletchling.

"Use agility!" Fletchling took off, streaking past the bolts at breakneck speed. Ash watched it fly by and called a counter.

"Electroball!" Balls of lightning shot in all directions, but Fletchling soared past them all. It hovered over Pikachu, and purple feathers fell around it. The mouse Pokemon briefly glowed blue. "What's going on?"

"We just lowered your Pikachu's attack power! Now, steel wing!" Chester yelled. Fletchling's wings started to glow, and it charged at Pikachu.

"We won't lose. Iron tail, let's go," Ash ordered. Pikachu's tail glowed, and it jumped up, countering the steel wing. The two bounced apart.

"Iron tail didn't do a thing," Clemont commented.

"Feather dance is an amazing move!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Serena's grasp on the bannister tightened. "Come on, Ash and Pikachu, do it!"

Erin simply watched the action, absorbing Ash's strategy. She was nervous that she might have to face him, so she was determined to be ready.

Pikachu and Fletching clashed again and again in midair. "But how? Pikachu's attack power is down!" Chester yelled in bewilderment.

"If one time isn't enough, we'll just hit 'em a bunch of times!" Ash enthusiastically replied. Just as he said it, Pikachu smacked Fletchling, sending it flying. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" The bolt flew through the air, striking Fletchling. The bird fell to the ground, with swirls in its eyes.

"Fletchling is unable to battle! The winning Pokemon is Pikachu!"

The two adversaries walked to the center, bowed, and said "Thank you very much." Ash kneeled down and petted Pikachu's head. "I knew you'd win it, Pikachu."

"You were strong too, Fletchling." Chester reached down and picked up the fainted bird Pokemon.

"And now," said the announcer, "I am pleased to announce that Ash Ketchum of Pallet town will be moving on to the finals."

"Awesome!" everyone said.

"Don't get too excited yet, Erin," Serena said darkly. "Remember, you still have your battle now."

"Right!" Erin said, "I'm ready to win!"

Ash walked up to them. "Alright Erin, now it's your turn," he said, pumping his fist.

* * *

**< Round One: Erin vs Cerys>**

The same judge from the earlier battle was officiating this battle. "Alright, Erin and Cerys, whoever wins this battle will be moving on to face Knight Ash in the finals."

Erin reached down to her belt and grabbed her pristine pokeball. _Alright Druddigon, this one's all yours. We're going to win this!_ She slowly walked to the center and held out her pokeball to her opponents, then gasped at what she saw. _She caught her Pokemon in an ULTRA BALL? I never see those on the anime. It must be really strong._ She gulped.

"To a good battle," her hooded opponent said. Deep shadows obscured her face, but she stood determinedly.

Erin gulped. "To a good battle."

The two walked back to their respective sides of the battlefield. Cerys threw her ultra ball. "Musharna, you're on!" she called. The pokeball opened in a flash, revealing a floating pink and purple Pokemon. A faint pink mist emanated from a spot on its head.

Erin sized it up. "Dexter, tell me about that Musharna," she said, holding out her watch.

MUSHARNA, THE DROWSING POKÉMON AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF MUNNA. THE MIST FROM ITS FOREHEAD TAKES THE FORM OF THINGS PRESENT IN THE DREAMS IT HAS EATEN.

"Shaaar!" the Pokemon wailed.

Erin took a deep sigh, then threw her Pokeball. "Druddigon, come on out!" The cave Pokemon emerged with a roar. Now full grown, Druddigon made an intimidating figure. Fast and powerful, Erin could tell that it was eager to test its skills. _Now, what's strong against Psychic types? I know!_

"Battle, begin!" the announcer called.

Erin took first move. "Now, Druddigon, show them your bite!" Druddigon's fangs glowed and it rushed towards Musharna at breakneck speed.

"Psychic," Cerys commanded. Musharna let out a cry, and its eyes glowed a brilliant pink. Druddigon started to glow the same color, and it stopped dead in his tracks.

Erin gasped. "Druddigon, break free! Keep using bite!"

"Go Erin!" a call came from the balcony. She looked up to see all of her friends cheering for her.

 _You will not win until I have had my say,_ a mysterious voice rang out in her head. _I know you, Erin._

The voice rang though her head, blocking out everything. Erin glanced at her opponent to see her intensely concentrating on her, as well as Musharna. _Is she doing this?_

Druddigon let out a hopeless roar. "DRUDDIGON!"

_You have a role to play._ _You know that already, don't you, though?_

Erin narrowed her eyes at her opponent. She opened her mouth to order a move, to scream out, but nothing came out.

_I know where you come from. I can help you find what you are looking for._ _I will allow you to win this battle. Understand this. When you are ready to find what you are looking for, you will find me._

Psychic instantaneously broke off. Caught of guard and unknowingly pushing forwards, Erin fell face first on the dirt battlefield. Druddigon flew forwards, catching Musharna full on. It let out a blood curdling scream, before collapsing to the ground in defeat.

The announcer, who had been watching the battle, looked stunned. "Um, Musharna is unable to battle. Erin is the winner and will be moving on to the final round of this tournament."

Erin stood still in shocked silence, lying against the hard battlefield. Druddigon had come over out of worry, and was sitting beside her. _What the- What just happened? Who on earth is this person?_ She groaned as she pushed herself into an upright position.

"Erin, heed my words!" Cerys strode towards the middle of the battlefield. "Zoura, reveal yourself."

The entire battlefield began to flicker, and all of a sudden a small black fox sat in the the middle of the arena, giggling demonically. Cries of alarm came from the stands as people realized that Erin was not standing and bowing, but instead slumped over on the ground.

"Now," she called, and the both of them were instantly gone. All that remained was Erin, sitting in shock.

The announcer, shaken, called out, "Uh, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Battle Chateau will be closed for the rest of the day. Please return tomorrow, Ash and Erin, to commence your battle."

Ash and Serena had rushed down. "Erin, are you okay? You just fell over after Cerys rushed off."

 _Rushed off?_ Erin stared at them. "What do you mean, rushed off? She just disappeared into thin air."

"Erin, I think you might have hit your head when you fell. We have to get you back to the Pokemon Center."

For what seemed like the millionth time in the past two weeks, Erin couldn't help but to think to herself _What is going on here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	8. First Match Facedown!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time: Ash easily beat his opponent in the first round of a tournament at the Battle Chateau. When it came Erin's turn, however, a mysterious woman named Cerys delivered a message to her, then disappeared without a trace. Worse, nobody else seems to remember what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on ff.net: [A/N] Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the long wait, but I've been crazy busy. With that said, enjoy and R&R! (Note: I don't own Pokemon. Again.)

**< A Pokemon Center on Route 5>**

Erin dug into her plate of food. She was ravenous after being at the Battle Chateau all day. The five companions all were sitting at a picnic table outside of the Pokemon center.

"Oh man, this food is good!" Ash exclaimed. He was literally inhaling his dinner. "Clemont, you're an amazing cook!" He and Pikachu rubbed their bellies.

Serena giggled. Erin just sat back and rolled her eyes. "Ash Ketchum, you are such a glutton."

Ash simply shrugged and went back to eating. "Erin, what happened at the end of that battle? You just collapsed. Are you okay?"

"That's not what happened!" she replied, "I told you, Cerys was using psychic on me, I don't know why."

Serena looked at her. "Are you sure? It didn't look like that to us. Don't you glow blue when psychic is used on you?"

"Yeah," Clemont agreed. "We all saw what happened. You KO'd her Musharna in one move, and she ran off crying. She obviously wasn't prepared for the challenge. We were all surprised when you collapsed."

"It was really scary," Bonnie added.

Erin sat helplessly. "But... that wasn't even real! It was all an illusion. Didn't any of you see the Zorua?"

Clemont squinted at her. "Erin, that's impossible. Nobody's seen a Zorua in Kalos in years, not since they were banned from competitive use. You must have been seeing things."

"But I-"

Ash reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Erin, it's okay. We understand that you might not remember today properly. Just forget about it. Remember, we've got our battle tomorrow! We both should do some training."

Erin was completely confused, but she just nodded. _Something is wrong. Why do none of them believe me?_

**< Later>**

"Alright!" Erin yelled. Druddigon slammed into the ground in front of her. It raised glowing claws in triumphant victory. Across the field, Bunnelby slumped to the ground in defeat.

"Bunnelby, return!" Clemont called. A bright red flash shot out, enveloped the bunny, and went back to the pokeball. He strode out to the middle of the field with applause. "That was a fantastic battle, Erin!"

"Hey, it's no thanks to me. That was all Druddigon." She stroked her dragon's neck.

"It was great how it learned dragon tail like that. That makes how many moves now, seven?"

"Yeah," Erin said, "Druddigon and I are getting really strong. He knows leer, scratch, bite, thunder fang, dragon claw, dragon tail, and dragon rage!"

"I'm going to head inside and heal up Bunnelby. Are you coming?" Clemont asked.

"No," Erin said. "I have to finish something up. I'll be right in, okay?"

"Sure, no problem." The inventor walked across the dusty battlefield and into the center. Erin held out her pokeball.

"Druddigon, return." She clipped the ball back onto her belt, turned, and strode into the woods.

The forest was foreboding in the dusk. The deep trees opened and closed without reason, and a deep thicket covered the floor. Erin held out her arm and pushed her sweatshirt back. "Dexter, show me our meeting spot." A small holographic display shot out of the Poketch, illuminating the woods.

ERIN, YOUR MARKED SPOT IS TO THE SOUTHWEST. YOU WILL COME OUT ON THE RIVER IF YOU CONTINUE ON YOUR CURRENT COURSE. CONTINUE UPSTREAM FROM THE BATTLE CHATEAU.

Smiling, she shut the watch down and started to hike. After a bit, she came across the deep blue river. She followed it down to her right for a long while. It was a beautiful night, and the Pokemon were out in force. The river was filled with Lotad, and Hoothoot and Deerling were scattered across the bank.

"I need to catch another Pokemon eventually," Erin softly remarked to herself. She saw a particularly cute Deerling, and her hand went to her purse. She dug around for a minute, then groaned. "I don't even have pokeballs. What lame excuse for a trainer doesn't have a pokeball on them?"

"Obviously, you. You seriously still haven't stopped at a single Pokemart yet?"

Erin spun around. Paul was leaning against a tree, pertched up on a branch. "Paul," she muttered. "You are unbelievable. I come all the way out to this ridiculous spot you marked, and you insult me imediately."

Paul was unphased. "You want to talk about what happened at the Battle Chateau, don't you."

Erin gaped at him. "How did you know?"

Paul nodded. "I thought as much. Your friends didn't believe your story, so I am obviously your next best choice, aren't I?"

"But it's true! There really was a Zoura, and Cerys just disappeared, and I-"

"Stop." Paul leaped down from the tree in front of her.

"Huh?" Erin looked up at him. She had talked to him before, but never in such close quarters. He was taller than her by three inches or so, but he seemed to tower over her. She took a step backwards.

"I believe you." Paul's gaze was intense, and she held it.

"You-you do?" Erin said hopefully. "I'm not just seeing things?"

"I can't promise you that," Paul said, "But too many strange things have been happening recently to be coincedental. It wouldn't be impossible." He held up his hand to prove his point.

Erin nodded her head. "Yeah. First the attack on the bus, then you show up, then this happens. I just wish I knew what's going on."

A loud rustling came from the bush behind them. A Deerling pushed out. It had soft bright pink fur, and a yellow flower was pertched on its head.

Erin stared at it, then drooped. "Aw, why didn't I remember to bring pokeballs? It's so cute!" She slowly walked over and started petting it. The wide-eyed doe looked up at her, then happily rubbed against her leg.

"Deerling deer!" it cooed at her.

Erin smiled down at it. "Aw, now aren't you just the sweetest thing."

A metallic beep sounded through the clearing. THIS DEERLING HAS A VERY SMALL MOVESET. IT KNOWS TACKLE AND SAND ATTACK. ADDITIONALLY, THIS DEERLING APPEARS TO BE PARTICULARLY WEAK FOR ITS SPECIES.

The wild Deerling, startled by the noise, hid behind Erin's legs. She slowly turned and glared at Paul. "You just couldn't resist, could you?"

Paul simply looked back at her and shrugged. "I honestly don't even know why you would bother with this one. Haven't you seen all the other Deerlings?"

Deerling seemed to understand Paul's tone, and buried its head in Erin's leg. She reached down and rubbed its head. "Now see what you've gone and done! You hurt Deerling's feelings."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you really care this much, then I suppose that I'll indulge you." He reached down and grabbed a pokeball from his belt. "Clauncher, stand by!" In a bright flash, a blue lobster appeared on the forest floor. "Erin, get out of the way."

"What do you mean, you'll 'indulge' me?" She suddenly realized what he was about to do. "Paul, no!" She dove out of the way just as a hydro pump came rocketing through. Deerling was hit full on, and staggered under the impact. The small deer fell to three knees.

"Pokeball, go!" A ball flew from Paul's hand to connect to Deerling's head. It was enveloped by a bright red flash and disappeared. The ball rocked, then again, then gave a flash. Paul walked over, grabbed the ball, then looked over at Erin, who was lodged in a bush.

Erin groaned, pulling herself out of the shrubbery. Her clothes and her hair were covered in leaves. "Do you even CARE what happens to other people? You are so infuriating!" She screamed at him for a good five minutes.

Paul stood and listened. When she finished, he stretched out a hand and dropped a small round object in her hand. She looked down at the pokeball and gasped. "You caught that Deerling in a _Luxury ball!_ Those things cost, like, 20,000 poke!"

He frowned. Putting his hand on hers, he closed her fingers over the ball. "This is yours. You did want it, right?"

Erin gawked at him. "What?"

Paul turned away and started walking off into the woods. "You heard me. Keep it. It's not like I have any use for it anyways."

"Oh. Uh, thank you?" She was put off by the unexpected gesture. "Where are you going?" She called after him.

"It's one in the morning. Ash isn't going to beat himself, you know." With that, Paul was gone.

After a quick glance at her watch, Erin realized that he was right. She walked off back the way that she had come, with a glittering Luxury ball clipped to her belt.

**< Round Two: Ash v Erin>**

The Battle Chateau soared over the azure river. The balconies were packed with people waiting to watch the battle between Ash and Erin.

The group walked out amid the crowd. Erin was nervous. She was about to battle Ash. For real. She was standing in the Battle Chateau, and she was going to battle Ash. She was starting to panic when a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned around to see Serena, smiling at her.

"Are you nervous?" Serena asked

"Yeah, just a bit," Erin admitted.

"C'mon, you're going to be fine! Druddigon can take anything he can throw at you."

Erin visibly relaxed. "You really think so?" she said weakly.

"Yeah, of course I do!" Serena said, "Remember, don't give up until it's over!"

"Didn't Ash say that?" Erin asked. Serena gapsed, then blushed, smiling.

"He did, didn't he? Oh well, good luck then." She headed of to the balcony, smiling. Erin turned on her heel and walked down the steps to the battlefield.

Ash was already on his side of the field, standing confidently. He called over to Erin. "Good luck!"

"You too!" she called back, then was silenced as the judge came down to the field.

"Ash and Erin, the winner of this battle will be awarded the noble Baron."

The rules were all the same as the preliminary rounds, and Ash and Erin nodded.

"Then let's begin."

Erin looked down at her pokeball belt, and grabbed the normal pokeball. She strode forwards and met Ash in the middle. The two of them locked eyes, and pokeballs touched. "To a good battle," they chorused.

"So, Ash, who are you going to use?" Erin asked.

"You'll see," he responded. He strode back to his side and launched his ball towards the center. "Froaky, I choose you!" The blue frog appeared on the battlefield with a triumphant "Froa!"

Erin grinned. _Perfect. Water type moves are weak on Druddigon._ "Druddigon, come on out!" Her dragon emerged in a flash with a massive roar, staring down the Froaky in front of it. Erin grinned. _We've got this in the bag._

Ash took the first move. "Now, Froaky, use water pulse!" A blue sphere of water grew between Froaky's hands and shot off towards Druddigon.

"Counter with dragon claw!" Erin called. Green claws shot through the air to counter the water, which splashed harmlessly around the dragon. "Awesome! Now, get in close and use thunder fang!"

Druddigon's fangs glowed, then began crackling with electricity, and it charged at the frog. "Froaky, dodge and use pound," Ash called out.

Froaky tensed and jumped just as Druddigon got to it. It jumped over Druddigon and slammed it down in midair, sending it careening into the ground by Erin.

"Druddigon!" she yelled, "You can do it. Use dragon claw again!"

"Froaky, pound again."

Druddigon rushed at Froaky again, and was slammed back down into the ground. It struggled back to its feet and looked at Erin questioningly. She gritted her teeth and stared at Froaky. _Druddigon's so much slower than Froaky, so how can I even land a hit?_ All of a sudden, she had a flash of inspiration.

"Druddigon, use dragon claw once more," she called. Druddigon's claws glowed emerald green, and it rushed towards Froaky again.

Ash yelled to Froaky "Again!" Froaky dodged under the dragon claw and jumped over Druddigon.

"Perfect!" Erin said, "Now get it with dragon tail!" As Froaky's hand started to glow, a glowing tail came from behind it and smacked into the ground.

"What?!" Ash yelled, staring at Froaky. "Froaky, get up and use water pulse!"

"Thunder fang!" As Froaky struggled to get up, Druddigon's fangs glowed once again, and it rushed towards Froaky.

Ash screamed, "Froaky, dodge!" Just as Druddigon was about to bite down, Froaky's form glowed breifly, then stopped. Druddigon's attack went straight through Froaky's limp form, which disintegrated in its jaws.

Erin gasped. Ash looked terrified for a second, then grinned and said, "Froaky, great job on learning substitute! Use bubble!"

"What?" Erin looked up to see Froaky launching a horde of bubbles at Druddigon, which slammed into it and drove it back to Erin's side.

"Now, finish this with water pulse!"

"Counter with dragon rage!"

The beam of purple light and the blue sphere collided in the center of the battle field with a massive explosion. Erin shielded her face as the force of the explosion slammed into her. Just when she thought that the attacks had canceled each other out, but the water pulse came flying through the dust to crash into Druddigon, driving the cave pokemon into the ground.

"Druddigon, no!" Erin ran to her Pokemon, who had swirls in its eyes, and hunched down over it, hugging it. "Please be okay," she whispered.

"Druddigon is unable to battle. This means that the winner is Ash!"

Erin stared down at her knocked out pokemon. _I lost. I lost my first battle against Ash._

Druddigon opened one amber eye. "Drud?" it asked feebly.

Erin bowed her head, fighting to hold back tears. "I'm sorry, Druddigon. I wasn't good enough for us to win." Her Pokemon made a growl in protest, but she held out its pokeball. "Return." she said tonelessly.

There was a gloved hand in front of her face. Erin looked up to see Ash offering her a hand. She took it and got to her feet. Ash smiled at her. "That was an awesome battle! I thought that you had me for a second there. You would have won for sure if Froaky hadn't learned double team there!"

"You really think so?" Erin asked him.

"Sure I do! Druddigon is really strong!" Ash said confidently, and Erin blushed a little.

"I didn't do that well. I totally underestimated Froaky's speed."

"That was an amazing battle!" Erin and Ash looked over to see Clemont, along with Serena and Bonnie, walk over.

Bonnie looked like she was simply bursting with happiness. "Yeah, Druddigon and Froaky were both really good!" she exclaimed.

Serena only had eyes for Ash. "Wow, Ash, you were so strong out there!"

Ash smiled embarassedly. "I didn't do anything at all! It was all Froaky."

Serena shook her head. "Nope, I'm congratulating you!" she said with a smile. Erin could see Bonnie and Clemont looking incredibly confused by the exchange. She just smiled and shook her head.

"Well done to the both of you, I say!" Duke Turner was walking over clapping. "Ash, you have certainly earned the noble title of baron! Erin, you put up a valiant fight. Perhaps you should come back some time. I am certain you would gain the same noble title as your friend here."

For the next fifteen minutes, the group exchanged plesantries with the various guests of the battle chateau. As they were preparing to leave, they were stopped by Grant.

"Ash, Erin, congratulations," he said, "That was a mightily fine battle. I've been told you've been challenging gyms. If so, do you know where you're heading next?"

"Yeah," Erin said, "The Cyllage city gym. You're the gym leader there, right?" _I remember him from the anime for sure. I'll see if I can get Druddigon to use rock tomb climb._

"What?" Ash exclaimed. "I have to face you?"

"Yep, I'll be waiting for your challenge," Grant said with a wink, then turned and walked back over to where Viola was sitting.

Ash looked like he had won the lottery. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Cyllage city!" He turned on his heel and dashed out the door.

"Ash, wait!" Serena called and ran after him. Erin and the others followed suit as the began again on the road to Cyllage city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	9. I Wanna Be the Very Best (On Pokevision)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: After her bizzare encounter with a mysterious woman named Cerys in her first round, Erin trained for her second round battle against Ash. Later, she met up with Paul, who caught her second Pokemon, Deerling, for her. After a fierce battle against Ash, Druddigon lost to Froaky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note FF.net: [A/N] Hey people. Sorry my posting has been so sporadic, I've been sick, plus school and stuff. This chapter is very fluffy. I mostly just took some of the crazier ideas floating around in my head and put them here. It will have significance, but not for a while. 
> 
> Also, just a look ahead towards where this story will be going. The beginning arc will end after Erin does her Cyllage city gym battle. After that, we're finally done with exposition! Some of my favorite anime episodes happen between Cyllage city and Shalour City, so it's going to be great. With that said, please R&R and enjoy! (Note: I don't own Pokemon, but I do own Erin, Cerys, and the Bus Driver from chapter two. I probably need more OCs)

**< Route Five, Near Another Pokemon Center>**

"Hey, Erin?"

Erin looked down at the young girl walking by her side. They had been traveling all day, and she was more than ready to get to the nearby Pokemon center. Bonnie was staring inquisitively at her belt. "Yeah, Bonnie, what is it?" she asked her.

"Where'd you get that pokeball from?"

 _What pokeball?_ She looked and realized that Bonnie was staring at the luxury ball. "Oh, this? Two nights ago, before my battle with Ash, Pa- I mean, I caught a Deerling out in the woods." Erin let out a little internal sigh, realizing that she had almost told the whole group that Paul was following them.

"Oh, wow! Deerling are really cute!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Can I see it? Oh, please, pretty pretty please?"

Clemont and Serena seemed to be questioning of how exactly Erin had caught it, but Ash had no such reservations. "Yeah, new Pokemon are awesome! So, let's see it!"

Erin picked the luxury ball off of her belt and tossed it up into the air. "Deerling, come on out!" In a white flash of light, the small deer appeared in front of Erin. Its beautiful pink pelt matched the crisp spring air arround it. It had big eyes and ran up to Erin and nuzzled her leg affectionately with a "Deerling deer!"

Bonnie and Ash's eyes went wide at the sight of the new Pokemon. Clemont looked unenthused, and Serena went for her pokedex.

DEERLING, THE SEASON POKÉMON. WITH THE CHANGE OF EACH SEASON, DEERLING'S APPEARANCE CHANGES AS WELL.

"It IS so cute!" Bonnie exclaimed, she rushed up and tried to hug Deerling, but it hid behind Serena's legs.

"Bonnie, you're scaring deerling!" Erin scolded her. "She's a bit shy, I think. Try approaching her slowly."

"Okay," Bonnie whispered. She walked to Deerling, who let out a little confused cry, then slowly petted her. "I'm sorry, Deerling. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Erin," Ash called over. "Are you going to use Deerling in your battle against Grant? Grass types are strong against rock types, you know."

"Well," Erin said slowly, "Deerling kinda only knows how to use tackle and sand-attack, so I dunno."

"Hm," a voice came from behind them. It was Clemont, deep in thought. "I've got it! We can have Chespin help Deerling learn grass type moves!"

"Deer?" The shy Pokemon emerged from behind Erin and looked around curiously at the group.

Chespin chose that exact moment to come out of the pokeball at Clemont's side with a triumphant "Chespin ches!" Deerling took one look at the pokemon and bolted back behind Erin's legs.

"Deerling!" Erin said concernedly. She turned to Chespin. "Now look what you've done, you went and scared her. Go and appologize right now!"

Chespin, looking very put down, dragged his feet as he walked over to Deerling, and seemed to try to appologize, which scared Deerling even more. She almost tried to make a bolt for it, but a beam of red light connected with her side and she dissapeared back into the luxury ball in Erin's outstretched hand.

Erin let out a deep sigh. "Looks like we're going to have to work on that."

**< A Route 5 Pokemon Center, the Next Morning>**

"Welcome back to Pokevision Live!" A metallic voice rang out through the lobby, coming from a wide screen TV in the corner. "Time for more rankings! We've reached number four on our countdown. Here's 'Snowcapped Onix!'" The TV showed the giant rock snake huddled arround its trainer, covered in snow.

"Never seen Pokevision before..." Ash commented.

Serena looked at him irrediculously. "That's amazing, since everyone knows about it."

Clemont held up a finger. "Pokevision refers to promotional videos created by trainers themselves."

"Awesome!" Ash said, "That sounds so cool. I wish I knew what that meant." Everybody sighed.

Erin was creating a mental checklist as all of this was happening. _Let's see... This is probably that episode where they make a Pokevision video, which means that team rocket will show up. Also, Serena and Fennekin save the day. Oh, and that stupid video Clemont makes. Hey, maybe I could make a video._ She was contemplating what her video would be as her attention went back to the screen.

"And now, it's time for this week's video number one! Aria and Fennekin's 'Life of an Idol'"

"I knew Aria would be number one!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Serena looked pouty, and so did Fennekin. Ash commented on Aria's Fennekin, and Serena's face breifly looked scared, then relieved that he was talking about the Pokemon, not the person.

Erin smirked and elbowed Serena. "Are you ever going to say anything?" she asked her with an evil grin.

Serena looked paniced for a second, then furious. "Why, you..." She looked like she was going to get more annoyed, then noticed that everyone else was staring.

"Come on, you two, stop bickering." Clemont said.

"You know, I never argue with Clemont. You two should get along more!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Erin was confused for a second, then remembered. _That's right, they think that we're sisters. How could I have possibly forgotten that?_ She shook her head and smiled.

Serena had a slightly different reaction. She stiffened, then said, "Wait, but we aren't even-" She was stopped as Erin threw her hand over her mouth. She made a noise that sounded vaguely like a curse in protest.

Erin hissed into her ear through gritted teeth, "No, not now. Later." She was then forcibly dragged away from Serena by Clemont, and Ash held Serena back.

"Stop it!" Ash yelled. A very angry Fennekin jumped in front of Erin and launched an ember at her. She wrenched herself out of Clemont's grip, and the flame hit Clemont, setting him on fire.

"Ash, let go of-" Serena started, then realized who was grabbing her. "Oh, it's Ash." She then relaxed, and she blushed again.

Meanwhile, Froaky had emerged from Ash's pokeball and was chasing Clemont around the lobby, lobbing water pulses at him. Bonnie and Dedene had hidden behind a large plant and were trying to stay out of it.

"Hey, Serena," Erin cooed, "How about now, huh? Got anything to say to Ash?" She then winked at Serena.

"Ooh, that is it!" Serena yelled, struggling against Ash again. "Come back here, you little-" Her face was bright red from anger and embarassment. Erin stuck out her tongue at her.

"Enough of this!" Ash screamed. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" The yellow mouse jumped off of Ash's shoulder, letting off a briliant bolt of yellow light. It crashed into the bickering girls, causing an explosion. When the dust cleared, the three of them were sitting in a black crater in the floor. Pikachu landed next to them unscathed.

"HEY!" a woman screamed. Erin looked up to see and infuriated Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff bearing down on them. "Get out! Get out out of my center right now! Can you _see_ what you've done to my floor?" She pointed to the exit. "NOW!"

Erin grinned at her cheekily. "You wouldn't happen to have equipment to shoot a Pokevision video, would you?" She was answered by the sting of a double slap from the vengeful Wigglytuff. They wasted no more time getting out of the center.

**< A Pokevision Production Shop>**

"Excuse me, sir?" Erin asked.

A burly shop clerk turned around and looked at her. "How may I assist you, miss?"

"We'd like to rent two sets of equipment for filming a Pokevision video, please." She handed over 50 poke, and they walked out of the shop with two cameras.

Serena wasn't speaking to her, but Clemont asked "So, Erin and Serena, you two are both going to create a video?"

"Yeah," Erin said.

"Well, mine is going to be much better!" Serena said to Clemont without acknowledging that Erin had said anything. In a much softer tone, she turned to Ash, and asked "Hey Ash, can you help me?"

Ash shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, I was going to do some special training."

Erin grinned as the idea she had been mulling over all morning started to come together. "Actually, Ash, I think that you should help _her._ I was thinking that maybe I could borrow your Pokemon for the video." She crossed her fingers behind her back.

"All of them?" Ash asked somewhat questioningly.

Erin nodded. "Yeah, and as a matter of fact, if I could get Chespin and Dedene too, that would be great."

Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie looked at each other, then nodded. In unison, they said, "Everybody, come on out!" In a flash, all of the Pokemon appeared.

"Great," Erin said. "Let's go!" She and the pokemon walked off. "See you guys later!"

They walked for five blocks before she noticed a glint out of the corner of her eye. "Watch out!"

A giant metal fist soared past Erin's head, then retracted back into the giant robot that had rolled up behind them. She spun on her heel, and yelled "Team Rocket!" A hatch opened on the top of the rolling bot and the troublesome trio appeared.

"Prepare for trouble, that's a twerp I see."

"And make it double, clear as can be!"

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare for a fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Of course, by this point, Erin had released Druddigon, and all of the Pokemon were standing at ready.

"Now! Druddigon, dragon rage! Pikachu, thunderbolt! Fletchling, razor wind! Chespin, Pin missile! Dedene, thundershock! Froaky, water pulse!" All of the attacks joined together to form one gigantic ball of energy, knocking into the robot and sending the rockets flying.

"Alright!" Erin cheered. "That was easy! Now, let's go make a movie!"

**< Later, at the Pokevision Production Shop>**

Erin, along with a horde of assembled Pokemon, stood at the desk. "We're done!" she called into the back room.

"Fabulous," said the worker, who had come out to greet them. "I'll take this, edit it, and I can even do a soundtrack if you like."

"Actually, I was kinda wondering if I could sing something. Do you have a recording studio?" the man pointed to a room over to the side, and she went in, shutting the door.

**< Later>**

The home theatre was darkened. Clemont, Ash, Serena, and Bonnie all sat in a row quietly waiting. The door in the back of the theater creaked open, and Erin slipped into the room. "Hey guys," she said. "Sorry it took me so long."

"Hey, no prob," Ash said. "What took you so long, anyways?"

Erin winked at him. "It's a secret!" She walked over to her seat and released Druddigon and Deerling in the back of the room to watch the presentation.

"Alright," the theatre manager said, "Serena's up first."

The lights in the room darkened, and the video came on. Erin smirked as she watched Serena and Fennekin dance around the screen in different outfits. _God, I had forgotten how kiddy this video was in the anime. Mine is so much better._

It had taken her the better part of four hours to get the song right. She knew it by heart, but she needed it to sound just right. She had taken piano years ago, and the editor person knew how to play guitar. Somehow, they had pieced it together, then Erin's decent voice and autotune had done the rest.

"Alright, now here's Erin's video," the man called.

As the opening notes started to play, Erin knew that it was perfect.

"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was."

_Erin looks out over the forest, head turned down, tapping her foot to the beat._

"To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause."

_On the dusty battlefield outside the pokemon center, Druddigon comes out of his pokeball to face Fletchinder._

"I will travel across this land, searching far and wide."

_All of the pokemon run across the open field, with Erin on Druddigon's back._

"These Pokemon, to understand, the power that's inside."

_Erin sits cuddling Deerling, with Dedene on her head, Pikachu at her side, and Druddigon behind._

"Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all! It's you and me."

_Erin and Deerling dive behind a rock as Druddigon shoots a dragon_ _rage_ _at them._

"I know it's my destiny! Pokemon, Oh, you're my best friend."

_Erin stands in a brightly lit clearing, fist thrust high with Deerling's luxury ball glistening in the sun._

"In a world we must defend! Pokemon, oh, your heart's so true! Our courage will pull us through!"

_Fletchling uses steel wing, then Froaky uses water pulse, then Chespin uses pin missile, then Dedene uses thundershock, then Pikachu uses Electroball, then Druddigon steals the show with dragon rage._

"You teach me and I'll teach you! Pokemon!"

_A clip of a video Erin took on her Poketch a week ago shows, and all five of them squeeze into the camera making funny faces._

"Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all! Pokemon!"

_At the end of the video, a still frame shows. It reads "Pokemon Theme Song," by Erin Paschall._

As the screen went black, Erin stared in amazement. She hadn't realized it until then, and she might never feel that way again, but in that moment, she felt like she was home.

Ash cheered. "Erin, that was amazing."

"Everybody was so good," Bonnie said.

"How did you come up with that song?" Clemont asked. "It was simply fantastic!"

Erin grinned. "Oh, it's been in my head for a long time."

Serena hadn't said anything this whole time. She was staring off at the wall, with a dejected look on her face. Fennekin was looking up at her worriedly, and she absent-mindedly petted it.

Ash noticed. "Hey, Serena, what did you think?" he said.

"Oh?" she said so faintly it was almost a whisper. "It was good, I guess."

Erin was oblivious, and turned her nose at the obviously paltry praise. Ash glared at her. "Hey," he said forcefully, "You two make up, right now."

Sullenly, Erin said "Okay, sorry."

"Sorry."

Erin knew it wasn't the end of it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	10. A Whisper in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: After a big fight, Erin and Serena each decide to produce their own Pokevision video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note on ff.net: This is probably the first chapter that actually merits the T rating that I have for this story. It's also the first chapter where I found the need to switch around with perspectives. Also, I'm going to away for two weeks, so the next chapter will be very late. Sorry about that. As always, R&R and enjoy! (Note: I own my OCs. Not Pokemon)
> 
> God, I actually forgot I had posted this here. Sorry, it wont happen again.

**<???'s Perspective – Somewhere in Kalos >**

"Ma'am."

"Give your report, captain. You stated you detected something?"

"Yes. We have confirmation that they have reached connecting cave."

"As expected. Continue."

"Our efforts to stop the young ninja were unsuccessful. He overwhelmed three squads of our men with his Frogadier."

"..."

"Ma'am?"

"Captain, do you understand that our success depends on the capture and subsequent elimination of this boy, correct."

"Well, I-"

"I guarentee that our men at the Institute will be... displeased. We wouldn't want to have to recondition you, now would we?"

"N- No, ma'am. We can double our efforts. He is still a day away."

"It is too late for that, captain. I will take matters into my own hands."

"But- is that really neccessary? Surely we can find a way to spare his life?"

"Would you value his life over the world?"

"No ma'am."

"From this point, you are demoted to grunt. Do not refer to me as ma'am. I am simply Hunter. Report to sector 22-b immediately and inform the commander there of my displeasure with you."

"Yes ma'am – No, I mean Hunter."

**< Route 7>**

Bzzzt.

Erin shot straight up in her sleeping bag. _What the hell was that?_

Bzzzt.

She looked down to see that her Poketch was ringing. She tiredly made a swipe to turn it off, but accidentally hit the answer button instead.

"Erin?" The voice that rang across the line was deep.

"Paul? Why the fuck are you calling me at three in the morning?" She stood up and got out of her tent. The group had stopped after a long day of walking and was camped out just outside of the cave between route 7 and Ambrette town. A quick glance around told her that nobody else had woken up.

"There's been an attack." His voice was dead. "Pidgeot is knocked out, and I have an injured boy with an injured Frogadier. Bring meds. I marked the spot on your map."

Erin's mind went blank. An attack? By who? Suddenly, she realized who it probably was.

"You said a boy with a Frogadier?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"I know that boy. His name is Sanpei. I'm coming." She switched the Poketch off.

Erin turned and surveyed the campsite. She ran over to one of the backpacks laid under a tree and rummaged around in it, coming up with a handful of potions and bandages. She stuck them in her purse, and turned to leave the campsite when she heard a noise behind her.

"What are you doing?" Erin flinched as Serena's accusing voice cut across the clearing. "Those are Clemont's things. Why are you going through them?"

Erin gritted her teeth. _I don't know what's happening, but if Sanpei is really hurt badly, then I need to get there right away._ "Look, Serena, there isn't time for this right now."

"Isn't time for what, Erin?" Serena strode across the clearing. She had a steely glint in her eye, and her fists were clenched.

"I- I can't tell you." Erin got off awkwardly.

"Just like everything else." Serena's voice was dangerously low.

"What? That's not true."

Serena stood up suddenly. "Why don't you see what's happening? As soon as I saw Ash, I knew this was MY journey. So what if some girl who looked exactly like me just happened to appear in my room?"

"Serena..." Erin said in a warning tone.

"No! I think it's about time that I say what I will! You are the problem! You show up, without a word about where you come from, with a pokedex and Druddigon seemingly out of nowhere. You claim to know the future. Erin, if you're so all-knowing, then why can't you see you're making my life a living hell?" Serena said the last sentence with such certainty that Erin felt a stab of ice go to her chest. Without another word, Serena rushed past her with tears in her eyes.

"Fuck," Erin muttered. She wasn't that bad; she couldn't be that bad. How had she screwed up this badly? _She's headed away from Paul and Sanpei. I can't abandon them, but I don't know if Serena will be okay._ She forced her self to make a split second decision, then gathered up all of the meds from the floor and dashed off in the opposite direction as Serena.

**< Route Seven, Elsewhere>**

Erin burst into the clearing nearly fifteen minutes later. She had dashed all the way from their campsite. She looked around and saw two figures huddled around a fire. "Paul!" she called, and ran over.

The boy rose and looked her over. His eyes were glassy from exhaustion, and he swayed on his feet. "Took you long enough," he mumbled, before collapsing into Erin. Grunting under his weight, she caught him and set him down by the fire.

Erin gasped as she looked him over. Three deep scratches ran down the entire length of his arm, soaked in crimson blood. His clothes were mangled, and his whole body was beat up. "What happened?" she asked in a hushed tone, shocked by the blood.

"They attacked..." he murmured faintly. "Thirty of them, each with a Mightyena. They were using fatal force, Erin. They tried to kill us." His head drooped, but he managed to make out another sentence. "Don't waste your empathy on me... Save it for the other boy."

His head lolled to the side, and Erin was unable to muster any reaction other than to stare at him. Blood- She hated blood. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Feebly, she walked over to Sanpei.

The young ninja looked like he had been savaged. Claw marks covered his body, and his clothing was in tatters. Blood oozed from wounds across his body. Erin drew in a sharp breath. She had never seen anything this horrifying before.

Hand shaking, she reached out with a shaking hand and felt for a pulse. It was still there, albeit weakened considerably.

Erin sat back in horror. _I have no idea how to deal with a wound like this one. He needs to get to a pokemon center._

After thinking for a moment, she walked back over to Paul and grabbed his Pokemon belt. One by one, she let out each one. His Clauncher, knocked out. A Phantump, knocked out. A ninjask she remembered from the anime, knocked out. Finally, she found the ball she was looking for, and Pidgeot was sprawled out in front of her. She returned the others and dug around in her purse before coming up with a small golden rhombus.

She knelt by the majestic bird and she placed the revive in its mouth.Slowly, it stirred, looking at Erin. "Pi?" it asked confusedly, then noticed Paul. It started to walk over, then turned back to Erin and spread its wings menacingly.

"Stop!" Erin cried, just as it started to attack. "I'm here to help! You need to fly me and Paul and Sanpei to the pokemon center!"

"Pidg Pidgeot!" The big bird nodded its consent, then stood down.

Erin sighed in relief. _Pidgeot can fly us there. Now I just need to try and cover their wounds._

She started with Paul. With a deep gulp, she grabbed a ripped part of his shirt and pulled. It came apart, and a muscular six pack was visible underneath. Erin gulped, but the blood made her forget any notions she might have had. She took a bottle of Antiseptic from her purse and sprayed it over the deep gouges. She then tied the strip of cloth over them to cover them up.

Stepping back, she decided that it would have to do. She walked over to Sanpei, took one look at him, and she had to run for the bushes.

After she had finished puking, she slowly peeled off Sanpei's blood soaked jumpsuit. She followed the same process as she had on Paul. One cut by one, she ripped at his suit, and attempted to stop any bloodflow as best she could. Her efforts were not met with success. He was simply in such bad shape that she was unable to help him.

She walked back over to Pidgeot. "Can you carry Paul in your claws? I'll carry Sanpei with me." The bird nodded its understanding. She hoisted Sanpei up over her shoulder and she dragged him over to Pidgeot, slinging him over the bird's back. She jumped onto its back, and they were airbourne. It grabbed Paul, and they took to the sky.

Erin hunched on the bird's back as it flew to Ambrette town. _How did this happen? Could Pokemon really have done this?_ She felt Sanpei stir in front of her and cry out in pain. "Just a little bit further," she murmured.

After a short flight that had seemed like an eternity, they came to land in front of the center. The town was deserted at this hour of the morning. Erin jumped off the bird, and it laid Paul down on the ground. She ran over and shook him, and he opened his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Ambrette town," Erin said. "Come on, we have to get you inside."

Paul managed to stagger to his feet, and Erin helped him inside of the building while Pidgeot carried Sanpei. She guided him into a chair, then dashed to the reception desk.

It was empty.

"Fuck," Erin muttered. She desperately searched for a call button, and she found it on the desk. It read "For Emergencies only." She pushed it without hesitation.

Two minutes later, a tired looking Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff came dashing into the room. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Erin took a deep breath. "There are two boys in critical condition, as well as five pokemon. I found them in the woods, passed out. One said that they were attacked by thirty trainers with Mightyena."

"What!" the nurse yelled. She ran to the waiting room to find the two passed out teens. "Wigglytuff, I need two human stretchers immediately. All of their pokemon need attention as well." She turned back to Erin, and her face softened as she saw how worried Erin looked.

"Will they be okay?" Erin asked.

"Yes, but they might have not been if you hadn't gotten here so fast." Nurse Joy smiled at her. "They and their Pokemon will be cared for. You can see them in the morning. For now, though, you should get some sleep."

Erin nodded. "Are there any rooms available right now?" she asked.

"Yes, in fact, there are," Joy responded. "Go to the first room on the right once you go upstairs. There should be a bed there."

Erin nodded in gratitude. She walked upstairs, sick with worry for the two injured boys in the center. She collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

**< Serena's Perspective - Route Seven>**

Serena ran through the woods. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get away.

Branches caught in her hair, and thickets tore at her side. She couldn't stop. She could never face Erin like that again. Her foot caught on a protruding rock, and she went flying through the air, falling face first in a creek.

For a long time, she sat there, letting the stream water soak her to the core. Finally, she dragged herself over to a nearby log, and sat there. She was angry, she was tired, she was wet, she was lost. Feeling hopeless, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Once she was out of breath, she started to cry, deep throaty sobs coming faster and faster.

 _Why? Why does my life have to be such a wreck? All I want to do is travel with Ash and be with Fennekin, but then Erin_ _showed up and all of that changed._ Almost on cue, Fennekin burst out of her Pokeball and looked up at her trainer in worry. Serena smiled weakly and picked up her starter. _Who the hell does she think she is, anyways?_

"Uh, excuse me?" A soft voice came from behind Serena. "Are you okay?"

Serena whirled around, all of her sadness and pent up anger momentarily forgotten. A girl stood behind her. She looked to be about her age. Brown hair in a pixie cut, her light green eyes pierced Serena questioningly. She was in nightclothes, but she had a belt with three pokeballs strapped around her waist.

Serena tried to muster the words to speak, but instead burst into another round of tears. Rather than trying to speak again, the girl simply sat down next to Serena and waited until she was ready to speak.

After a while, Serena spoke. "Wh- Where did you come from?" she made out in between sobs.

The girl frowned. "I was camping just over that bluff there." She pointed at a large rocky outcropping. "I heard a scream, so I went to investigate. It turned out that I was right."

"Right about what?"

"Well, you look like you could use someone to talk to." The girl stuck out her hand. "My name's Elle. What about you?"

Serena took her hand. "I'm Serena, and this is Fennekin."

"Kin!" the small fox said, still worried about her trainer. Elle reached over and stroked Fennekin's head.

"Her fur is beautiful," she said longingly. "You must take wonderful care of her."

"Th- Thank you," Serena stammered. "I brush it every night."

"Well, it certainly shows." Elle smiled at her, and she couldn't help but to smile back. "Would you like to meet my partner?"

"Sure."

"Alright." Elle reached down and grabbed a pokeball off her belt. "Skitty, come on out!" In a flash, a small pink cat appeared on her lap. It yawned, stretched, curled into a little ball, and fell asleep. "Really? Why are you always asleep?" She cried, and threw her hands in the air.

Serena giggled, then remembered what had happened and sombered back up.

Elle frowned, and looked at her. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked seriously.

Serena hesitated, then launched into a full reaccounting of what had happened. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust Elle. She told her everything, starting from when Erin had appeared, to when they had found the egg. She talked about the gym battle, Fletchling evolving, and the egg hatching. She ended with the events of the past two days.

"... and she's just been so mean. I mean, she just appears one day, and then the next she's just a part of my life. I know something is wrong here. People don't just appear. She knows things before they happen, and I don't know why. I just wish she would leave me alone."

Elle was silent for a moment. "I think I know how you feel, Ser. Is it okay if I call you that?"

"Yeah, but what do you mean?" Serena was confused.

"Well, when I was a kid, I had these three great friends. We did all kinds of stuff together." Elle seemed to be breifly lost in thought. "Well, when we were fourteen, about a year ago, we were given the oppertunity to get our starter Pokemon. My friends were each able to choose a Kanto starter, but I was left out. Professor Sycamore was nice, though, and he let me have this Skitty that he had caught."

Serena was confused. "So what went wrong?"

"Well, my best friend became a bitch, that's what happened. She was a jerk where she used to be supportive, and neither of my other friends noticed. One night, it was just too much, so I got up and left. I haven't seen any of them since." Elle's words caught on the last sentence.

Serena was at a loss for words. She couldn't even imagine just leaving Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie like that. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Elle forced out a laugh. "I'm better off without them anyways. What about you? What are you going to do?"

Serena considered that for a moment. "I think I'm going to go and try to make up with Erin."

Elle raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure? You could travel with me if you want. What you described, albeit being more than a little bizzare, still sounded pretty bad."

Serena knew her answer before she finished the question. "No, I couldn't just leave Ash like that." She had meant it to feel more inclusive towards the whole group, but it didn't come out like that.

"You have a crush on him." It was a statement, not a question, and Serena blushed deeply as an answer. Elle sighed deeply. "Well, you're in no state to go tramping back through the woods tonight. Come to my camp. I have a spare set of nightclothes you can use, and an extra sleeping bag."

"Thank you," Serena said. She followed Elle back to her camp, changed, and got into the extra sleeping bag.

"'Night, Elle."

"'Night, Ser."

The campsite went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	11. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time - Erin finds an injured Paul and Sanpei after fighting with Serena. Serena meets a girl named Elle in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey AO3,
> 
> It's been a while since the last time I updated over here. Just a point of reference: Serena's Sister currently has 153,000 words and 36 chapters over on ff . net, so check it out over there if you haven't gotten enough. I'm going to try to get up to date here as well, but IDK how long it'll take.

Chapter 11: The Calm Before the Storm

 

 

**< Erin's Perspective – Ambrette Town>**

 

The morning sun shone in through the small Pokemon center window. Erin stirred. She sat up and blearily rubbed her eyes, before she remembered what had happened last night.

 

"Ohmigod. Paul. Is Paul okay?" she said out loud, not even realizing it. She quickly got out of bed and realized that she was still in her clothes from last night. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her clothes looked like they had been in a warzone, with bloodstains strewn across the front.

 

She sighed, rumaged through her bag, and drew from it her worn brown belt with her two pokeballs attached. Strapping it on, she admired it in the mirror. _At least with this on I look somewhat like a trainer._

 

Erin grabbed her purse and quickly made her way out of her room. She walked down the carpeted center stairs and into the lobby. Heads turned to stare at her bedraggled appearence as she walked over to Nurse Joy.

 

"Good morning," she said to the bubblegum-haired woman, who was hunched over a desktop terminal.

 

Nurse Joy turned and gaped at her. "Look at your clothes!" she gasped. "Don't you have anything else?"

 

Erin ducked her head mareepishly. "Sorry, I left it all at my camp on Route 7."

 

Nurse Joy clucked in disapproval. "Well, that simply won't do. Follow me, I'm sure that we can find you something to change into." She motioned Erin into a back room.

 

Erin followed her and shut the door behind them Nurse Joy searched through a sealed box in the corner before coming up with something. It was a bright pink dress with a pokeball design embossed across the front. "Sorry," she appologized, "but this all that I have."

 

"Thank you," Erin said gratefully. She grabbed the uniform and made to leave the broom closet, then her worry overtook her. "Are Paul and Sanpei going to be alright?"

 

Nurse Joy frowned. "Are those your friends? Well, the one that only had claw marks on his arms will be fine. He should be ready to go before midday."

 

Erin breathed out a sigh of relief. _Paul's okay._

 

"On the other hand," Nurse Joy continued, "your other friend is still in critical condition. He lost a lot of blood, and some of his wounds are infected. We can see what we can do for him, but we may have to transfer him to Cyllage City if he's going to live."

 

"What!" Erin exclaimed. "How are you going to get him there? There's a solid twenty miles of beach inbetween here and there."

 

Joy sighed. "I don't know. We'll figure something out." Her voice softened. "I'm sorry, but we've all had a tough night. Why don't you go change, and I can show you where your friends are."

 

Erin nodded and went back up to her room.

 

**< Later>**

 

The sterile room was stuffy. The low beep of medical equipment continually rang out. Two twin beds were on opposite sides of the room, with a curtain separating them.

 

Erin quietly tip-toed into the room so as to not disturb either of the sleeping patients. Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff were huddled over Sanpei. Erin gulped and walked over to them.

 

"How's he holding up?" she asked.

 

Nurse Joy paused and turned to her. "We managed to get rid of some of the infection, but he's still not looking good."

 

Erin frowned and nodded. _How could something like this have even happened? Why were they even attacked in the first place? Something is happening here._

 

Shuddering, she walked over to Paul's bed. Sitting down at his side, she swept a stray strand of hair from his face. A flash came from the table next to Erin, and Paul's Pidgeot appeared. Completely healed, it looked concernedly at its trainer.

 

Erin rested a hand on Pidgeot's folded wing. "It's going to be alright," she murmured, more to herself than to Pidgeot. "It's all going to be alright."

 

Suddenly, she had an idea. She grabbed Paul's hand and turned it so that it was palm down. "Pidgeot, use hidden power!" she commanded.

 

The giant bird cooed and spread its wings. A soft green light emanated from its body, washing over the room in waves. Erin glanced back to see if Nurse Joy was watching. Satisfied that she hadn't moved, she intently stared at the black mark that was branded onto it.

 

 _Ironic that we're in the same position, just switched._ It had been two weeks since Paul had first shown her their matching marks. Erin knew they meant something; that much was obvious. She just wished that she knew what.

 

A halting breath came from Paul. She watched as he stirred and opened his eyes blearily. "Erin?" he asked weakly.

 

"Paul, you're awake!" Erin exclaimed. She turned around and nodded at Pidgeot, and the hidden power gradually faded away from the room.

 

"Wh- where am I?" he mumbled, awkwardly pushing himself into an upright position with his good arm. The other was burried under a swathe of bandages.

 

"You're at the Ambrette Town Pokemon center," Erin responded. "Pidgeot flew you and Sanpei here. You passed out at the campsite from blood loss."

 

Paul rubbed his eyes, and surveyed the room. His eyes went over the curtain, then to Pidgeot, and finally to Erin. A flash of surprise crossed his face, but was gone so fast Erin thought that she might have been seeing things. "Why are you wearing one of Nurse Joy's dresses?"

 

"Why?" Erin snapped without meaning to, "My clothes were all covered in blood. What else was I supposed to wear?"

 

Paul's only response was to sigh. He gave a slight nod to Pidgeot, and the majestic bird cooed in pleasure. He looked back to Erin. "You shouldn't be here."

 

"Why not?" she shot back.

 

"Your friends will be looking for you," he said, turning his head to face the window.

 

Erin shook her head. "Paul, don't you get it? I'm your friend."

 

"Erin, look," he said exasperatedly. "You can't honestly think that you can just disappear in the middle of the night and not have them be worried about you."

 

She geared up for another argument, but realized that he was right. She sighed and changed tack. "But what if Sanpei needs to be moved? Nurse Joy said that his injuries might be to serious for her. I need to help them."

 

Paul massaged his brow with his good arm. "Take Pidgeot. It seems like it likes you. I can message you if he's going to be moved."

 

 _He's impossible. He just doesn't understand other people, does he?_ "Paul, I can't just leave you alone. You're hurt."

 

He growled angrily. "Erin, I'll be fine. Just go!"

 

Erin shook her head. "Come with me."

 

Paul was caught off guard. "What?"

 

"You heard me, Paul. Come with me. Aren't you tired of this? You've been sneaking around Ash for what, a month now? Aren't you ready to just come clean to him?"

 

"No." His face had settled into a glacial impasse.

 

"Why not? Why are you so scared of Ash Ketchum?"

 

Paul whirled his head around, causing Erin to jump back. "Because I'm weak, that's why! Do you have any idea what all of this has been like for me?"

 

Erin could only shake her head.

 

Paul kept going. "I woke up one day in a strange house, and I couldn't remember anything but my Pokemon and Ash Ketchum. All of my Pokemon are gone, Erin! Gone! The only one I have left is Ninjask, and he lost to Ash in seconds. I could never hope to face up to him."

 

"Paul, listen," Erin pleaded.

 

"No! I know better to challenge someone who I could never beat. I'm pathetic, Erin, and I'd be deceiving myself if I said anything else." He practically spat the last sentence before closing his eyes.

 

The room was deathly silent. Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff had emerged from behind the curtain to listen to his outburst. Pidgeot looked saddened, and its head drooped. Erin, on the other hand, was fuming. She stepped up and slapped him.

 

"Ow!" Paul yelled, "What was that for?"

 

"You just don't get it, do you?" she growled.

 

He looked confused. "Get what?"

 

Erin rolled her eyes at him. "When I met you, I honestly thought that you had gotten better. You had stopped being cruel to your Pokemon. I get it now. You turned it all on your self." She walked over to the windowsill, gripping the cool metal. "Ash may not force his Pokemon to perfection, but he also doesn't force himself. He wins because he believes he can win!"

 

Paul sat silent, and for a long time she stared out over the peaceful ocean town. Finally, he said "Just take Pidgeot and go. I'll be gone before you get back. You can tend to Sanpei with them."

 

"But, Paul..."

 

"Just go!"

 

Erin grabbed Pidgeot's pokeball and stormed out of the room as the bird disappeared in a red flash.

 

The door slammed shut behind her.

 

**< Serena's Perspective – Route 7>**

 

"Achoo!"

 

Serena was woken up by a vicious sneeze. She opened her eyes to see a fluffy pink tail dangling in front of her eyes. For a breif second, she was unsure of where she was. Then she remembered: she was in Elle's camp.

 

Yawning and stretching, she carefully reached up and moved the sleeping skitty off of her head and onto the warm pillow. Now unhindered by small Pokemon, she sat up and looked around the tent. Fennekin was stretched out next to her, sleeping peacefully. Skitty was curled up into a tight little ball, sleeping peacefully. She searched around the room for Elle, but only saw an empty sleeping bag.

 

Serena tiredly exited the tent and made her way over to the nearby picnic table. Looking up, she could see that it was already well into the day.

 

"Surprise!" She whirled around to see Elle, who was holding a greasy spatula. She had a goofy grin plastered all over her face, and Serena sweatdropped at the state of her clothes. "I made us breakfast!"

 

Serena laughed. "That's so sweet of you!"

 

Elle reached down to her belt and drew two more pokeballs. "Go, Swirlix and Petlil! Time for breakfast!" In two flashes, the two Pokemon appeared out in front of them. One looked like a cotton candy, and the other looked like a bulb.

 

"Wow!" Serena exclaimed, "So you have Pokemon other than Skitty!" She reached in her back pocket for her pokedex, but came up empty-handed. _I must have left it back at the camp._

 

Elle looked at her funnily. "You don't?"

 

Suddenly, the air was very awkward. "Well, you see..."

 

Elle raised her hand up. "Hey, I get it. We'll just have to catch you one!" She looked very excited at the notion.

 

Serena, on the other hand, had her doubts. "Well, I don't know... Shouldn't we be getting back to Ash and the others?"

 

Elle laughed. "Oh, stop worrying and eat some pancakes. I never said that it had to happen now, after all." She reached over, grabbed a pancake, and shoved it in her face, eating ravenously. "Here," she mumbled through a mouthful of food, shoving the plate towards here.

 

"Elle!" Serena exclaimed, half laughing and half scolding. "You know you should try to be polite." She took a pancake and took a delicate nibble out of it just to prove her point. Elle rolled her eyes as all of her Pokemon and Fennekin gathered around the table. Fennekin ate just like Serena, but Elle's Pokemon had no such reservations.

 

Around a half hour later, Serena and Elle had packed up the camp and cleaned up from breakfast. "Thank you so much for everything, Elle," Serena thanked her.

 

"Hey," the other girl said, "it was no problem."

 

"So where are you going from here?" Serena asked.

 

Elle shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really do anything, persay. I just search for new pokemon and do whatever sounds good. We were headed to the beach to do some high-quality sunbathing." She winked at that. "What about you? Why are you traveling?"

 

Serena blushed. "Well, I don't really do anything either. I'm traveling with Ash. He's challenging all of the gyms so he can enter the Kalos league."

 

Elle nodded in understanding, then her eyes lit up. "Hey, I know!"

 

"What?" Serena was confused.

 

"We could travel together! I mean, neither one of us has anything better to do, and traveling with Ash sounds exciting." Elle looked excited at the idea.

 

"Sure!" Serena said. Then a doubtful look came into her eyes. "We have to find them first, though. Knowing Ash, he's probably lost by now."

 

**< Later>**

 

"Ash!" Serena yelled.

 

They had hiked through the woods for an hour before stumbling back on Ash's camp. Now they walked in to find Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont all looking very worried.

 

"Serena?" Ash responded. "Where were you?"

 

"Yeah," Clemont added. "We all woke up and you and Erin were both gone."

 

"We were really worried!" Bonnie exclaimed.

 

Serena frowned. "Erin isn't back yet?"

 

Ash shook his head, then looked over Serena's shoulder to see Elle. "Hey, who are you?" he asked.

 

Elle stepped forwards, blushing slightly. "Oh, hi. I'm Elle."

 

Ash reached out and shook her hand. "I'm Ash. It's nice to meet you."

 

"And I'm Bonnie, and this is my big brother, Clemont."

 

The five of them sat and exchanged pleasantries before a piercing cry from above interrupted them.

 

"Pidgeeeoooottt!"

 

A giant bird swooped down and landed in the clearing. Serena gaped as Erin jumped off of its back. She looked beat up and haggard, with messy hair. She also was inexplicably wearing a nursing outfit.

 

"Erin?" Serena asked, stepping forwards. "What did you have to do last night, and why do you have a Pidgeot?"

 

Erin shook her head. "There's no time to explain. There's a severely injured boy named Sanpei at the Ambrette Town Pokemon center, and he's going to be moved to Cyllage City before nightfall. Come on, we have to hurry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	12. A Draconic Blast of Danger!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Time: Erin and Paul got into a fight at the hospital. The group all meets back up and heads off to Ambrette Town to help transfer Sanpei to Cyllage City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post here so erratically... Oh well, comment to tell me how I should post more! ;) (Seriously though, thank you for everyone who takes the time to read and leave their kudos here. I really appreciate it.)

**< Erin's Perspective – Ambrette Town>**

 

The door to the Pokemon center burst open with a bang. Erin dashed in, looked around, and disappeared up a nearby stairway. She opened a door at the end of the hall and disappeared inside.

Nurse Joy was exactly where she had left her, huddled over Sanpei's still body. Wigglytuff was sprawled out over a bench in the corner, apparently taking a nap. Paul's bed was empty. As she came in, Nurse Joy raised her head to look at her blearily.

“How is he?” Erin asked breathlessly. As she spoke, Elle and Ash came in behind her panting heavily.

“He's not doing good,” Nurse Joy mumbled. “His wounds are infected and they aren't healing properly.” Her words slurred together, and as she spoke, her shoulders slumped a bit.

“Nurse Joy?” Ash asked, “Are you okay? We can get you a coffee or something.” Elle nodded in agreement.

Nurse Joy mumbled something incoherent. Erin responded for her. “Yeah, can you take her to the kitchen? I have a feeling today isn't quite over yet.”

Ash and Elle nodded and they disappeared back out of the room escorting Nurse Joy. Erin walked over to the bed and looked down at the boy lying in it.

Sanpei looked better than he did the night before, but not by much. Many of the smaller gashes were sewn up, but two particularly large ones were still open. They had pus at the bottom and smelled like festering flesh. Erin sank down next to his prone figure and brushed a stray lock of hair aside. “Who would use Pokemon for violence like this? If Paul hadn't been there, he would be dead.” She whispered it, barely audible.

“Erin?” a soft voice came from the door. She turned around to see Serena hesitantly clinging to the doorframe. “Can I come in? Ash said you were up here.”

Distractedly, Erin said “Yeah.” She didn't look up as Serena cautiously walked over to near where she was.

“Can I see him?” Serena tentatively asked. Erin nodded, and Serena came over and sat down next to her. She gasped in horror as she saw the exposed wounds, and Erin could feel her tense. “Wh-what happened?”

Erin closed her eyes. “Someone tried to kill him.”

Serena buried her face in her hands. “But, that's horrible. Why would someone want to do that?”

“I don't know.”

The two of them sat there for a long time. Erin draped her arm over Serena's shoulder, and Serena rested her head against Erin's. After a long while, Nurse Joy came back in, stopping short at the doorway. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked.

Erin looked up at her. “No, of course not. When is he getting moved to Cyllage?”

Nurse Joy frowned. Although she looked more awake than she did before, she still had deep bags under her eyes. “I need to do some last minute care, but fifteen minutes.”

Erin nodded. Serena still had a blank shell-shocked expression on her face. She grabbed Serena's hand and led her to a bench outside of the room. For a long while, they just sat there.

“I'm sorry.”

Startled, Erin looked up at her. “Why?”

Serena shook her head. “I- I wish I had known what had happened. I overreacted last night, and, and, this is all my fault.” Erin could see tears starting to came to her eyes, and she took action.

 

“Stop it!” she cried, and Serena seemed to momentarily stop getting upset. “If this is anyone's fault, it's mine. I started this all by teasing you, and I didn't tell you where I was going. I've been the problem, not you.”

Silence. Finally, Serena asked “Why are you here?”

Erin was caught off guard. “I don't know. You know just as well as I do that I don't belong here.”

Serena looked confused. “So where do you come from?”

Erin was gearing up to answer, but Nurse Joy came out of the room wheeling a stretcher with Sanpei on it. “We need to move now,” she said. Erin and Serena nodded, and they followed Nurse Joy out of the building.

Nurse Joy pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and pressed a button on a clicker. With a creaking groan, a previously unnoticed door slid open to reveal a slick ambulance that looked unused.

“Whoa,” Erin gasped. “I didn't know centers had those!”

Nurse Joy nodded in acknowledgment. “Not many people do yet. They're brand new from the region south of Kalos. These beauties are going to save a lot of lives.” A sleek ramp slid down, and Nurse Joy slid the stretcher on to the back of the ambulance. The rest of the group came running out of the center, and they gasped as they saw the sleek car.

“How are we all going to get there?” Erin asked in concern.

Nurse Joy frowned. “Well, I need to drive, and one person can ride shotgun, then there's room for five in the back, and I need Wigglytuff to help keep Sanpei alive. One person can't come.”

Erin nodded. “That's okay. I can fly with Pidgeot.” Everyone else in the group nodded with agreement.

As a wailing siren filled the air and the ambulance pulled out of the garage, Pidgeot appeared in a red flash. Erin dashed up to it and whispered in it's ear. “Okay, follow that ambulance.” Pidgeot cooed softly, and Erin stroked its flank. “I promise you'll see Paul right after this, I swear.” She quickly mounted the majestic bird, and they took off after the ambulance.

The Kalos coast was truly a majestic site to behold. Miles of azure coast stretched out down the long length of route eight. Sandy beach and rocky shore were populated by thousands of beach goers, many of which seemed alarmed by the sudden appearance of an ambulance.

Erin zoomed along the coast after the ambulance. She nodded in satisfaction. As far as she could tell, everything seemed to be going smoothly. It seemed like they would get there in time.

Disaster struck.

“Salamance, use Hyper Beam!”

From the sky above Erin, a powerful beam of purple energy shot towards the ambulance. Narrowly missing, it cut a deep gouge in the ground behind it. The vehicle swerved and came to a stop, with all of its doors flying open. Erin watched as all of her friends dashed out, with Wigglytuff wheeling Sanpei out.

A deep shadow fell over from above. As Erin gaped upwards, a giant airship appeared out of nowhere. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, and it was absolutely massive. “What the hell?” she yelled as loud as she could.

A magnified female voice rang out over the coast. “You have what we want. Give us the boy, and we will not be force to hurt you.”

Erin motioned Pidgeot with her leg, and they zoomed down to her friends. Landing, she leaped off, and grabbed Druddigon's pokeball off of her belt. Tossing it into the air, the dragon appeared with a massive roar. “What do you want with Sanpei?” she retorted.

Ash stepped up next to her, and released Fletchinder and Froaky. “We won't let you get him!”

Druddigon's roar still echoed in the distance. Suddenly, a massive response came in the form of a roar that shook the ground. A door in the belly of the ship opened, and five black-clad men jumped out. Each one threw up two pokeballs, releasing ten Mightyena. A giant blue dragon swooped down from inside, with a notorious white haired woman standing on its back. The reaction was instantaneous.

“You're the one who attacked the bus!” Serena cried.

“You!” Erin screamed.

Elle, Clemont, and Bonnie all looked clueless, but a look that was something between burning hatred and fear showed on Ash's face. “I though you were dead!”

The woman laughed. “You children honestly thought that Cyrus didn't have a backup plan? That future sight didn't kill me. Cyrus brought me back, of course. I killed him after that. He knew better than to go against our contract.”

Everyone gaped at that, but Ash only narrowed his eyes. “Fletchinder, flame charge. Froaky, water pulse. Pikachu, electro ball.”

As the three attacks zoomed towards Salamance, it simply used protect and the attacks were absorbed. With that, the silence was broken. The entire beach erupted into the calamity of battle.

Erin remembered J having some sort of cannon from the anime that could be neutralized by using hidden power. “Pidgeot, protect us with hidden power! Druddigon, knock that thing out of the sky with dragon rage.” As a green glow surrounded Erin and her Pokemon, a beam of energy shot towards Salamance, who took it. It responded with another hyper beam, and Erin dove out of the way.

**< Serena's Perspective>**

Clemont, Elle, and Serena were fending off all of the Mightyena. A barrage of ranged attacks from their Pokemon were glancing harmlessly off of a wall of protect. As Chespin, Bunnelby, Skitty, Fennekin, Flabebe, and Petlil stopped attacking, a row of dark pulses barreled towards them. The first four were able to get out of the way, but Petlil was hit and instantly knocked out.

“Petlil!” Elle cried. She grabbed her pokeball and returned the small Pokemon. Desperately, she looked over at Serena. “We have to get Sanpei and Bonnie away from here, otherwise we're screwed. They aren't safe here.”

Serena and Clemont both nodded. The three of them ran over to the stretcher, where nurse Joy guarded it and Bonnie was huddled. She was sobbing hysterically. “What's happening, brother? Why are they attacking us?”

Clemont sat down next to her. “Shh, it's going to be okay. We need to run. Can you do that for me?”

Bonnie stood up stubbornly and nodded. She put another hand over the purse holding Dedene and grabbed onto the stretcher.

Nurse Joy walked up to them. “Take Sanpei and go! I can hold them off. Ambrette town is only a short bit away.” She reached to her belt and drew another pokeball. Throwing it, a Floette appeared floating above the beach.

One of the black clad men growled. “Don't let them get away! Mightyena, charge!” The pack of ten black dogs dashed forwards.

Nurse Joy looked back one last time. “Go!” She cried. Turning her head back to the action, she commanded both Pokemon to use dazzling gleam. The beach flashed bright white, and all of the Mightyena stopped in their tracks. The combined attacks were so powerful that matching roars could be heard from Druddigon and Salamance, who were further away.

Serena grabbed a hold of the stretcher and dashed down the beach. “Ash,” she murmured quietly. “I hope you're alright.”

**< Erin's Perspective>**

“Druddigon, jump and use dragon claw!” Erin yelled. The blue and red dragon leaped into the sky and brought glowing green claws down on the other dragon's flank.

“Counter with your own dragon claw.” The two attacks collided in midair. “Now use steel wing.” Hunter J's face was merciless, and all of her focus was on attacking her target. The giant flying dragon's wings turned silver, and it brought them down with a massive swoop.

“Quick, counter with dragon tail.” Erin called. Druddigon swung around and blocked the massive wing.

Ash, who had been watching the whole encounter, sprung into action. “Come on, let's help Erin! Fletchinder, carry Froaky up, then use flame charge. Pikachu, wait down here, okay?”

J growled as Fletchinder sped towards Salamance. “I grow tired of these games. Salamance, seismic toss then outrage.”

Erin's eyes widened at the power of those attacks. “Druddigon, don't let it throw you! Hold on with thunder fang and dragon claw!”

Fletchinder and Froaky flew right past J as she leaped off of Salamance and down to the sand below, landing effortlessly despite the massive drop. Salamance went into a nose dive as Druddigon latched onto it. The flying dragon screamed out in agony at the super-effective attacks as they plummeted to the ground. Druddigon could not hold on, but Salamance could not stay airborne, and the two dragons went head over heels.

J grinned in satisfaction. “Outrage, now!”

The two dragons turned purple, and Salamance began to thrash violently. It was clear to Erin that Druddigon was taking a lot of damage and would most likely faint. She started to panic, then had an idea. “Pidgeot, use mirror move!”

The bird cooed in acknowledgment, and zoomed towards the entangled dragon. It glowed purple and slammed into the dragons at max speed, creating a massive explosion. When the dust cleared, both Salamance and Druddigon were knocked out. Pidgeot was swaying on its feet, barely standing.

Erin stepped forwards. “The game is over, J. You lost, and Cyrus is gone. There's nothing for you to fight for.”

J's face twisted nastily. “Cyrus was nothing more than a pawn for the Institute. And the game has just begun. I believe you may recognize this Pokemon.”

She drew two pokeballs, a normal one and a master ball. With the normal one, she returned Salamance, and with the other, she released a blue and white feathered Pokemon who glared daggers into Pikachu.

“Latios!” Erin shrieked.

Ash looked angry. “Why do you have Tobias's Latios?”

J shrugged. “He was a danger, and he didn't know how to control his Pokemon, so I relieved him of them.” She pointed at Pidgeot, Froaky, and Fletchinder. “Luster Purge.”

Pidgeot was exhausted, and Froaky and Fletchinder were both relatively untrained. None could withstand the massive beam of energy from the legendary Pokemon.

Erin gulped and returned Pidgeot and Druddigon, and Ash did the same for Froaky and Fletchinder. “You won't get away with this!”

J jumped impossibly high into the air, and Latios flew under her to catch her. Pikachu launched a thunderbolt, but it was easily dodged. In a sickeningly sweet tone, J said “Thank you for your cooperation. I'm sure your friend will be of great service to us.” With that, Latios sped off, leaving Ash, Erin, and Pikachu in the dust.

**< Serena's Perspective>**

They had been running for a solid fifteen minutes when they heard the explosion. Looking back, Serena could see smoke rising from under the imposing figure of the massive aircraft. She let out a small whimper. “I hope Erin and Ash are okay.”

Clemont put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I'm sure he'll be okay. We all believe in Ash, remember?”

Serena nodded, comforted. She turned back to her destination. Cyllage City was beautiful, with graceful buildings rising up on high limestone cliffs. However, the situation was too dire for her to truly appreciate it.

Suddenly, a blue blur shot past them. “What was that?” Elle asked nervously.

“Latios, Luster Purge!”

A brilliant beam of energy slammed into the stretcher. All of the Pokemon were instantly knocked out. Elle and Serena jumped out of the way, and Clemont shielded Bonnie with his own body. Sanpei was flung aside like a rag doll.

When the smoke cleared, Serena could see J, lowly chuckling. “I can't believe such puny trainers could actually try to stand again me. I'll take the boy now.” She lifted a device attached to her arm and pointed it at Sanpei's prone form. She shot out one low blast, aimed directly at him.

The instant it struck his body, he began to glow. He shrunk and his pose changed until he was a small stone statue, which J walked over and grabbed.

Serena blacked out as J walked back over to Latios and flew back to her airship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


	13. Climbing the Walls - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time - Sanpei was captured by the nefarious Hunter J while in transit to the

Chapter 13 - Climbing the Walls - Part One

 

**< Erin's Perspective – Cyllage City>**

 

The room was dark inside of the police station. A round table was set up and eight people were seated around it. It was almost ten at night, and Erin was exhausted. She could barely comprehend the events of the last day, and she wanted nothing more than to slump down onto the table and sleep. Looking around her at all of her friends, she could see their expressions matched hers, with many haggard faces.

 

"So let me get this straight," Officer Jenny said, leaning back in her chair with a deep sigh. "You were attacked by Hunter J, who was presumed dead after the Mt. Corronet crisis in Sinnoh two years ago. She attacked you and kidnapped a boy, who was previously attacked last night, after which she escaped in her invisible airship?"

 

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. Erin spoke up. "Officer, that's not all. She also killed two people a while ago, a man named Cyrus and a trainer named Tobias. She has a stolen Latios in her possesion."

 

Jenny raised her eyebrow. "How'd she get a Latios?" she mused aloud. Then she shook her head. "Well, kids, I have to thank you for the report. You brought us five men, all of whom have a criminal record and are wanted."

 

"Officer Jenny?" a small voice piped up. Bonnie looked very small sitting in her chair next to her brother. "What about Sanpei? I'm really worried. Will he be alright?"

 

"Yes, I must agree with Bonnie," Nurse Joy added. "Sanpei was in critical condition, and we were attempting to transfer him to Cyllage city to continue his care. I worried that if he has been captured, without proper care, he may die."

 

Officer Jenny frowned. "I'm sorry, Joy, Bonnie, but I just can't say for sure. If he has been captured, we can't know."

 

Ash grimaced. "I've dealt with J before. If there's anything I know, she cares about the money more than anything. If she wanted Sanpei dead, she would have killed him," he said angrily.

 

A somber silence was broken by Bonnie yawning. Clemont frowned at her. "Officer Jenny, I hope you'll excuse us if we return to the center. It's far past her bedtime, and she needs to get to sleep."

 

Jenny nodded. "From what I've heard here, it sounds like you all could use a good rest. You're dismissed. I'll file your report."

 

 

**< Erin's Perspective – The Next Day>**

 

Erin sat on the Pokemon center roof, deep in thought. The dawn light was obscured by the mountains behind her, and she looked out over the illuminated ocean set out in front of her.

 

_Have I started this butterfly effect? None of this was supposed to happen. Is everything happening because of me?_

 

She could hear the swoosh of air behind her, but she didn't look back. She could feel a presence moving behind her, and she drew an object from her purse. She tossed it back over her shoulder, and the person caught it.

 

"Pidgeot's pokeball," she said curtly.

 

Paul sighed, and he walked down the roof and sat beside her. A flash was heard as Pidgeot disappeared back into his pokeball. "That was foolish of you."

 

Erin looked over and smiled thinly. "I didn't see you helping with her Salamance."

 

Paul scowled. "Look, I'm done talking about this. I'm not walking in Ash Ketchum's shadow." He drew a pokeball from his belt and fiddled with it nervously.

 

"Paul, I don't care. You're my friend, and I care about you!" Erin was getting worked up again. "You know just as well as I do that you abandoned someone who you risked your life for. Why can't you see that Ash would welcome you if you just tried to let him in?"

 

Paul just scowled and turned away. Erin sighed and turned back to the sunset. After a long while, Erin couldn't hold her thoughts in anymore. "She killed them."

 

"Huh?"

 

Erin narrowed her eyes at the horizon. "Hunter J killed Cyrus and Tobias."

 

Now all of a sudden Paul was up and alert. "What? How do you know?"

 

Erin bowed her head. "She told me and Ash."

 

"But- How? Tobias was so strong, he beat everybody but Ash and Cynthia with only his Darkrai!" Paul looked stunned, and Erin remained silent. "Wait, but that means that she and her employer have six legendaries!" Erin nodded, and the silence was deafening.

 

"There's nothing that we can do now. We just have to wait and see if Jenny can track them down." she sighed.

 

"...."

 

"...."

 

"So, what are you going to do for your gym battle?"

 

Erin was surprised by the question. "Well, I only have Druddigon and Deerling, and I know Grant has an Onyx, a Tyrunt, and an Amura. However, he could use literally any rock Pokemon in existance, so I don't really know. He'll probably use Onyx and Tyrunt against Ash, so we'll have to see."

 

Paul frowned. "Don't tell me you think Deerling can actually battle with that pathetic moveset?"

 

"What did you just say?" Erin's voice was dangerously low.

 

Paul didn't loose a step. "It has learned new moves, right?"

 

Erin was still on the defensive. "Of course! Deerling and I have been training hard for this! She learned razor leaf and quick attack!"

 

"What if she looses? Can Druddigon take on two Pokemon?" Paul had a glint in his eye, and Erin couldn't quite identify it. Was it anger? Discontent?

 

"I believe in Druddigon. Plus, he's probably way stronger than Grant."

 

Paul raised his eyebrow at that. "Believe me, I wouldn't be too sure of that."

 

"Are you trying to break my confidence?" Erin asked, raising her eyebrow.

 

Paul shook his head. "No, I'm trying to help you. I've seen rock tomb before. It's a devastating move, and you need to have a counter. I'm not so worried about Druddigon, but Deerling may have trouble. Do you have any ideas?"

 

Erin stopped and though about it for a moment, then she shook her head. How could she have no ideas whatsoever? She had watched Ash's battle with Grant lots of times. How did she literaly have nothing?

 

Paul rose and tossed his pokeball, revealing Pidgeot. "Here, hop on. I have some ideas, but I want to go somewhere private before I show them to Deerling."

 

Erin was surprised, but she nodded in agreement and got onto Pidgeot after Paul did. The two of them flew away from Cyllage city and out to route eight.

 

**< Serena's Perspective – Cyllage City>**

 

Serena woke up. The early morning light filtered in through the shaded window. She could feel Fennekin's warm body curled up against her own. With a happy sigh, she cuddled up with her Pokemon, burrying herself deep underneath of her covers. The darkness of yesterday seemed so far away when she was in bed. She never wanted to get out of it. She would just stay here forever.

 

_Ash._

 

Smiling slightly, she pushed the thought away. Of course she wouldn't leave Ash for something so silly. Pushing the covers off of her bed, she sat up and pushed messy locks of hair out of her face.

 

"Fen!" Her small Pokemon was happily looking up at her.

 

She gave Fennekin a warm smile. "Good morning Fennekin!"

 

"I thought that you'd never wake up." Serena looked over to see Elle sitting in a corner. She was already dressed, and was softly brushing Skitty's fur.

 

She raised an eyebrow. "You're up early."

 

Elle gave something that looked like a half smile, then turned back to her Pokemon. "I had trouble sleeping. Ash and Erin are having their gym battles today."

 

Serena was surprised at that. "Really? Even after everything that happened yesterday?"

 

Elle just nodded. Serena frowned and started to get ready for the rest of the day. Fennekin followed her around the center room as she tidied up. Finally, Elle spoke up.

 

"It doesn't make sense."

 

"Huh?" Serena looked over at Elle. She looked... intense. She hadn't noticed that her eyes were grey before, but they had a piercing look in them.

 

"Well, think about it. One day, a group of men attacks with the intent to kill Sanpei. The next, that awful hunter comes with the same minions. Instead of killing him though, which she had the chance to do, she captures him. It doesn't add up."

 

Serena frowned. "I don't know, I just hope that Sanpei will be okay."

 

Elle nodded, as if that had been her thought the entire time, and her demeanor lightened. "Well, there's nothing that we can do about it on an empty stomach! Let's go eat breakfast!"

 

They walked downstairs and over to the eating area to see Ash, Bonnie and Clemont waiting for them. Ash looked vaguely like a chipmunk, as his face was stuffed so full with food that he was unable to speak. Bonnie looked up, somewhat subdued, as she said "Good morning."

 

Serena took one look at Ash and burst out in laughter. "What?" he protested loudly through a giant mouthful of food.

 

"Nothing," she choked out. _That's Ash, for sure._

 

"Where's Erin?" Clemont asked.

 

Serena frowned and looked around, confirming that she was nowhere to be found. She was about to make a worried comment, but Elle beat her to the punch. "It's her first gym battle ever. I'm sure she's training really hard right now."

 

"Oh yeah!" Ash yelled. "I need to train for my battle. Let's go!" He ran out of the eating area in a mad dash for the center's field.

 

"Pikaaa!"

 

Everybody else facepalmed. Clemont sighed. "I guess we better go after him, right?"

 

Everybody nodded in agreement, and they followed after the overenergetic boy.

 

**< Erin's Perspective – Later>**

 

After a long morning of training from both of the prospective challengers, the group met back up at the Pokemon center to have a quick lunch. Now, they all stood outside of the Cyllage city gym, each ready for their prospective gym challenge.

 

Serena looked back at Erin and Ash, who were walking behind the rest of the group. "Are you guys ready for this?"

 

Erin nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

 

Ash, of course, was too excited by the prospect of challenging a gym, and he pushed ahead of the rest of the group and walked into the cavernous hole in the side of the mountain. Erin followed him in and gasped in awe. The inside of the mountain was completely hollow. A giant rock formation rose insanely high over the ground she was standing on, and it was dotted by small colored rocks. _It's enormous._

 

Ash called out. "Hey, Grant! We're down here!" He started waving frantically and looking up, and Erin followed his gaze.

 

Hanging off the side of the cliff was Grant, exactly like he did in the anime. Erin smiled. _I wonder how similar Ash's gym battle will be._

 

Grant looked down at the group of six. "Hey, Ash and Erin! Are you here to challenge the Cyllage city gym?"

 

"Yeah!" Erin and Ash yelled in unison.

 

Grant grinned and nodded. "Well then, climb on up! The battlefield is on the top of the structure."

 

Clemont had an alarmed look on his face. "Uh, Grant, do we all have to climb up that thing?"

 

Grant laughed. "No, of course not. There's an elevator around to the side. It's completely your own choice."

 

Ash was about to respond, but Erin beat him to it, surprising even herself. "I'll climb up," she said determinedly.

 

Ash nodded. "Me too."

 

The two of them walked up to the base of the wall and started to climb up when Erin had an idea. She drew a pokeball from her belt and released Druddigon onto the ground below her. "Druddigon, do you want to climb up with us too?"

 

"Drud!"

 

"Hey, I want to climb too!" Bonnie protested. She ran up to the base of the rock wall, but Clemont pulled her away.

 

"No, Bonnie, you can't! You're too young!" Clemont cried.

 

"Aww..." Bonnie pouted as she was dragged away to take the elevator.

 

Erin grinned and continued climbing. There was something soothing about climbing up the rock wall, which was quite easy. She and Druddigon moved up in unison. The cave pokemon looked right at home climbing up the rock wall. It gave Erin time to think and to formulate what her exact strategy would be. Before she even realized that she was making progress, she was already at the top of the wall.

 

She and Druddigon collapsed panting at the battlefield. She gave a Druddigon a tired smile. "We did it."

 

"Gon."

 

She heard the sound of clapping and she looked up. Grant was standing over her, applauding her efforts. "Congratulations, you beat Ash up here! It looks like you and your Pokemon were in perfect unison! Tell me, what were you thinking while you were climbing?"

 

Erin frowned. "Well, I was trying to get to the top, but I also was finalizing my strategy for the battle. Ash is going first, though, so we're going to have to wait for him."

 

Grant nodded, and she walked over to join Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, and Elle on the sidelines. It was a good five minutes before Ash finally appeared over the side. Pikachu happily jumped off of his shoulder, but he slumped to the ground, exhausted. Grant asked him the same question that he had asked Erin.

 

Ash scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I don't really know. I guess I was just trying to get to the top of the wall."

 

Grant clapped his hands together. "Perfect! That means that you are ready for this battle. Well, Ash, you may have scaled one wall, but there's still another wall in between you and the Cyllage city gym badge." His eyes narrowed. "And that wall is me."

 

**< Cyllage City Gym – Ash vs Grant>**

 

The referee stood on the side of the the battlefield. "Alright, this is a match between the gym leader, Grant, and the challenger, Ash. Grant will be allowed the use of two Pokemon, whereas Ash will be allowed to use all of the Pokemon currently in his party."

 

Ash turned to Grant. "I can really use all of my Pokemon?"

 

Grant nodded. "I want to see everything that a challenger has to offer, which means you can use your whole team."

 

Ash's eyes shone in excitement. "Alright, so I have three of my Pokemon with me right now, so let's give it everything we've got!"

 

"Pi Pikachu!"

 

"Alright then, battle begin!"

 

Grant nodded and drew a pokeball from his belt. "Onix, go!" With a massive roar, the giant rock snake Pokemon appeared on the battlefield.

 

Ash turned his hat backwards, and a determined look came across his face. "Alright, in that case, I choose Fletchinder." The red bird appeared in a flash and circled up above the battlefield.

 

"Go Fletchinder!" Bonnie called, jumping up excitedly. Dedene mimiced her movements.

 

Clemont frowned, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. Fletchinder is both a flying and a fire type, which means that it is very weak to rock types."

 

Serena looked worried, but Erin was confident. "This is Ash we're talking about here. I'm positive he has something up his sleeve that we don't know about."

 

Elle had a puzzled look on her face. "Wait, didn't you say that Ash has traveled to several other regions before Kalos?"

 

"Yeah, why?"

 

"So why doesn't he use any of his other Pokemon? There's no way he could have traveled for years with only three Pokemon, two of which are clearly novices. He could be using six here."

 

Erin frowned. "I think he wants to replicate the start of a new journey at the begining of each region. I mean, he only takes Pikachu, so that must be it." Elle nodded thoughtfully before turning back to the battle.

 

"Ash, as the challenger, you may have the first move," Grant called.

 

Ash nodded, then commanded "Fletchinder, use Flame Charge!" The bird burst into flames and started to circle around the field. As it flew, it grew faster and faster until it was almost a blur moving around the field.

 

"Onix, let's fight speed with speed! Use rock polish!' Onix took on a steely look, and its head moved faster than should have been possible.

 

"Fletchinder, use razor wind then peck!" Ash yelled. Fletchinder created several hyperpressured blasts of wind before diving directly towards Onix.

 

"When it gets closer use flash cannon!" Grant called. Onix started to charge up a beam of brilliant energy, and Ash's eyes widened in alarm.

 

"Quick, use flame charge and double team in order to dodge!" Fletchinder glowed a warm red with flames as it dashed out of the way of the attack, then replicated over and over again until a literal wall of copies surrounded Onix.

 

Grant gritted his teeth. "Now Ash, this has been a good battle so far, but it is time to witness the true power of the rock type! Onix, use rock tomb!"

 

The battlefield began to shake, then hundreds of rocks seemingly rose out of the ground below high into the air, before they started to come crashing down.

 

Serena gasped. "Fletchinder, watch out!" she called. _Come on, you can do this! I know that you can!_

 

Ash narrowed his eyes as the rocks knocked out double team after double team. "Now, use flame wing!" he yelled.

 

"What?" everyone on the sidelines chorused.

 

From high in the sky, a flaming bird fell, wings gleaming, aiming straight at Onix. It hit the giant rock snake directly in the face, causing it to stagger back several pace and roar in discontent. It came back around, hiting Onix again straight on.

 

"Onix, iron tail!" As Fletchinder came back around, Onix's massive tail slammed directly into its side, causing it to cry out in pain. It slammed into the ground, where it struggled to rise. Onix wasn't any better off. Scratches covered its entire body, and there was a deep gouge across its face. With a massive effort, Fletchinder was able to struggle to its feet.

 

Ash looked concernedly at his Pokemon. "Hey, Fletchinder, do you think that you can keep battling?" It nodded in affirmation, and Ash pumped his fist. "Then use flame wing again!" Fletchinder's flame powered steel wing slammed into Onix again, and this time, the rock snake fell in defeat. "Alright!"

 

"Onix is unable to battle! That means that Fletchinder is the winner!"

 

Serena, Elle, and Bonnie all cheered. "Good job Ash!"

 

Erin just watched the battle concernedly. _Fletchinder is in no state to battle, and Ash still doesn't know about draco meteor. Can he take that thing down with only Pikachu and Froaky?_

 

Grant smiled as he returned Onix. "You did well, old friend." he whispered to the pokeball before setting it aside. "Congratulations on your win, Ash. Very impressive, I must say. Using flame charge to power up steel wing was truly an inspired move. Unfortunately, my next pokemon is much stronger." He drew another pokeball and tossed it. "Go, Tyrunt!"

 

On the field, a miniature brown dragon appeared. It had massive jaws obviously designed to crush whatever prey it might have, which it clashed together noisily. "Tyrunt!"

 

"Wow, I've never seen that Pokemon before!" Serena said excitedly. She took out her pokedex and scanned it.

 

TYRUNT, THE ROYAL HEIR POKÉMON. TYRUNT'S JAWS ARE SO BIG AND POWERFUL, IT CAN CRUNCH UP A CAR. IF IT DOESN'T LIKE SOMETHING, IT RESPONDS WITH A WILD TANTRUM.

 

"Ash!" Erin yelled. Ash and Grant both looked over, confused about why she was yelling. "Be really careful here. His Tyrunt knows draco meteor!"

 

Grant looked shocked. "How do you know that? That's my trump card!"

 

"Thanks Erin!" Ash called over.

 

Ash called back Fletchinder, thanking him for the battle. He looked down to his side, where a small yellow mouse was standing determinedly. "Pikachu, are you ready to go in?" he asked.

 

"Pika, Pikapi!" Pikachu dashed onto the battlefield, sparks excitedly shooting from his cheeks.

 

"Ash, you can have the first move again!" Grant looked determined, and Tyrunt mimiced his pose.

 

"Take it and use crunch!" As an arc of brilliant electricity shot towards Tyrunt and enveloped it, the royal heir Pokemon rushed forwards and bit down on Pikachu's head. It barely flinched at the massive electricity outburst from Pikachu.

 

Ash gritted his teeth. "Pikachu, use iron tail!" Pikachu's tail, which was visible, glowed silvery and slammed down on Tyrunt's head. It cried out in pain and released Pikachu, who ran back over to Ash triumphantly.

 

Serena sighed nervously. Erin could see white knuckles as she gripped the bannister tightly, and her eyes were focused on the battlefield.

 

It seemed that Clemont had noticed this too. "Serena, are you okay?" he asked.

 

She had a distant look in her eyes. "Yeah, it's just... Grant is such a strong gym leader, and Ash trained really hard for this battle. I really want him to win, and I'm just worried."

 

Clemont seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

 

Erin had a knowing glance, and much to her surprise, so did Elle. An unspoken agreement passed between them to talk about it later, and the sidelines fell silent again.

 

Ash was still in the heat of the battle. "Okay, Pikachu, that didn't work, so let's try something different! Use quick attack, the volt tackle!" Pikachu began to run insanely fast, dashing to and fro around the field.

 

Grant smiled. "Rock tomb!" Rocks flew into the air, then came crashing down towards the field.

 

"Now, Pikachu!" Ash called with a triumphant smile. "Rock tomb climb!" Still using quick attack, Pikachu leaped up onto the falling boulders. Leaping from rock to rock, he went far up into the air. "Now use volt tail!" Pikachu went flying down towards a shocked Tyrunt and slammed it directly in the face with an electric iron tail.

 

"Tyrunt, retaliate with dragon tail!" Grant yelled. Tyrunt's tail glowed a bright green, and slammed directly into the electric mouse. Pikachu went flying and slammed into a rock before falling to the ground. He attempted to struggle to his feet.

 

"Pikachu, come on! Get up!" Ash called.

 

"Alright, Tyrunt," Grant said confidently. "Time to finish this. Jump and use draco meteor!"

 

Tyrunt sprang impossibly high into the air, and his mouth opened wide as a orange ball of energy started to form. It shot into the air and split into several different meteors that whistled as they fell back down to earth, exploding on impact. Pikachu was unable to get out of the way in time, and he took the brunt of a meteor full on. When the dust cleared, Pikachu was on the ground with swirls in his eyes.

 

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Tyrunt is the winner!"

 

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed as he ran onto the field and scooped him into his arms.

 

Pikachu tiredly opened his eyes to look at Ash. "Pika..." he mumbled tiredly.

 

"Take a good long rest, buddy!" Ash said. He carefully place his Pokemon behind him and looked back at Grant.

 

"Aw, Ash lost," Bonnie pouted.

 

Clemont shook his head. "The two hits he got in did a ton of damage, though. I wouldn't be surprised if Tyrunt only takes another hit or two."

 

Erin grinned. _There's no way Ash will loose this. He still has another Pokemon, and Tyrunt is done for. Looks like I'm up next._

 

"Ash, you've proven to be a creative battler, and Tyrunt is almost done. Who will you send out next?" Grant waited calmly as Ash drew his last pokeball from his belt.

 

"Alright! Froaky, I choose you!" The blue frog appeared on the battlefield in front of Ash. He wasted no time in calling his first command. "Use bubble!"

 

As a horde of bubbles ran towards Tyrunt, Grant gritted his teeth. "Tyrunt, you have to dodge!" Tyrunt moved to dodge, but it tripped over its own feet and took the attack head on. Unfortunately for Ash, it didn't really seem to do that much to Tyrunt. Froaky looked confused as well as they waited for Tyrunt to rise.

 

"Ash, you're forgetting that Tyrunt is half dragon type, so water type moves are normally effective." Grant shook his head as Tyrunt rose. "Rock tomb."

 

"Rock tomb climb!"

 

As the rocks fell from the sky, Froaky jumped up them, making his way to the sky. Grant sighed. "Tyrunt, use dragon tail." Tyrunt leaped into the air, scoring a direct hit and sending Froaky plummenting.

 

Ash's eyes widened. "Froaky, use water pulse in midair!" Froaky did just that, and the water pulse scored a direct hit just as the blue frog hit the ground. Tyrunt was instantly knocked out, cold on the gym floor.

 

"Tyrunt and Froaky are unable to battle. That means that the victor is Ash, the challenger, as he still has one Pokemon remaining."

 

"Alright!" Ash cheered. Pikachu was extremely tired, but he still raised a paw in victory. However, everybody else didn't have the same feel of exuberance that he did.

 

"Froaky just went down in one hit..." Erin was shocked that Ash's Pokemon had lost that battle so quickly.

 

Clemont frowned. "Yes, and that was Tyrunt's weakest attack. Crunch, rock tomb, and draco meteor were all more powerful."

 

Shrugging it off, the spectators on the sidelines went out to congradulate Ash. They were doing so when Grant walked over.

 

"Good job on your win, Ash. Here's the Cliff badge as proof of your victory at the Cyllage city gym. You have truly scaled this wall." Grant seemed oddly subdued as compared to his normal attitude, though, which Ash noticed.

 

"Hey Grant, is something wrong?" Ash asked.

 

"Well, I was truly impressed with the improvisation shown by Pikachu and Fletchinder. They are both exceedingly well trained and powerful. It's just... I don't feel like Froaky is applying himself to you in the same way as they are."

 

"What do you mean, Grant?" Ash looked confused and slightly hurt.

 

"Well, you see, a Froaky at this level should have been able to single handedly taken down Tyrunt with that bubble attack, but Tyrunt took it at low health and survived. Maybe when you train, you need to make sure that you push Froaky further than you do." Grant looked concerned at Ash's reaction, which was rather subdued.

 

"Oh, ok."

 

Serena was even more concerned than Grant. "Ash, are you okay?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to think some things over, I guess." He turned away and started to walk to the exit.

 

Grant made a move to walk after Ash, but he thought better of it. "Let's take an hour long break. I need to get everyone to the center, so let's meet back here then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, folks. A Kudo shows you read it, a Bookmark shows you cared, and a comment shows that you want more.


End file.
